The Benas Podcast

"David":

Today's guest does not need much introduction, David Blatt is one of the most accomplished coaches to ever coach in Europe. One of few coaches to win at every possible level, most notably a Euroleague championship in 2014, Eurocup in 2018, Eurochallenge in 2005, Adriatic League in 2012, European champion at the National Team level in 2007 as well as Bronze in 2011 & Bronze in the London Olympics in 2012. Obviously, he also has countless domestic league and cup titles to accompany those accomplishments.

Today's episode was a unique & rare one. We kicked the conversation off by raising awareness about Multiple Sclerosis and continued talking about his current new roles with Maccabi TelAviv as well as Canadian National Team. David went on to share his limitless knowledge on countless topics that ranged from sliding door moments in his career, over the process of hiring his assistant coaches and staff in general, what he looks for and what he values the most. We went on to discuss some Xs&Os situations to satisfy the ears of all nerds listening. David talked about the need of 'Cultural Competency' when coaching in different countries and cultures. Off course the Maccabi championship team from 2014 was also a topic as well as some philosophical topics that included the art of being self critical and questions to ask yourself after games. 

Topics:

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#DavidBlatt #MaccabiTelAviv #Israel #MaccabiBasketball #CanadaNationalTeam #Basketball #Champion #Euroleague #NBA #Olympics #Medals #Medalcollector #HeadCoach

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"Theo":

Theo had an illustrious 18year long career in Europe and is well-regarded as one of the best guards of all time in Euroleague. Theo won two Euroleague titles with CSKA ('06 & '08) and has plenty of individual awards to show for, most notably Euroleague MVP in 2007, Final Four MVP in 2006 and many more. 

Today's conversation turned philosophical very quickly and circulated mostly around what it takes to raise good basketball minds and not necessarily basketball players. Lots of reflections on what he saw throughout his career, what lessons he drew from it that help him run his Eurohoops Academy and empowering kids to not be afraid to make mistakes. We also touched on how he watches games and what he looks for the most. Retirement was also a topic, what helped him take the next steps in his life and moving on to 'the next thing'.

Topics:

Finding Theo:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/papaloukastheodoros/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#TheoPapaloukas #GreekBasketball #PointGuard #ExPlayer #Retirement

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

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"Roberto":

Roberto Iezzi currently is a strength & conditioning coach at Brescia Basket that plays in the Italian league as well as the Eurocup. He also spent three years of his career in Jerusalem working for Hapoel where he trained Amare Stoudamire amongst others. This past summer Roberto also worked with the Italian u20 National Team. He also has two podcasts that he hosts, one is a solely Italian podcast where him and his co-host Andrea interview specialist from their field in Italy and "Sport Vitamins" is an English-speaking podcast where he invites sports professionals from all over the world to "talk-shop" about sports.

Today's episode is a look at the process behind the scenes with the work of a strength & conditioning and every aspect that comes with it. We talked about the problem solving during a season, specifically the dynamics with him and the head coach as well as the doctors & players. Lots of coordination as well as communication especially during the rehab process of a player. We talked about the details that matter when 're-conditioning' a player as well as what metrics to use in order to convince the head coach about practice intensity & volume.

Lots of other topics that surfaced that we 'double-clicked' on while having our conversation.

This one is all-things-training...Enjoy!

Topics:

Finding Ryan:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/roberto_iezzi34/

Favorite Book:

"The Score Takes Care Of Itself"

- https://www.amazon.com.au/Score-Takes-Care-Itself-Walsh/dp/1591843472

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

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#RobertoIezzi #Brescia #Strength&Conditioning #TeamDynamics

Sponsors:

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

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"The Team Mechanic":

Trent Hotton is a former AFL player who founded his own company "Team Effect" after he spent two years in the UK where he also opened a business in 'training and leadership' to help him advance in that field. Overall, he spent 4 years in the AFL and after two rather disappointing seasons with Collingwood he managed to return 4 years later and played two more season with Carlton before finishing his career in the Australian Football League.

In today's episode Trent and me spent most of the time talking about various topics around building a team culture and developing a value system in a team. We talked about the importance of communication amongst the players as well as staff, what it means to give the players ownership and giving them the opportunity to have more input in what's going on. We talked about leadership, trust, reputation, fear of failure as well as other practical parts of his profession.

Topics:

- Background

Finding Trent (it's not easy):

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hottontrent/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#TrentHotton #TeamEffect #Australia #Boomers #MelbourneUnited #Basketball #TeamCulture #Communication

Sponsors:

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

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"Ryan":

Ryan Pannone is currently the Head Coach of the GLeague team Birmingham Squadron and already has almost 20 years of coaching experience when he started as a young coach in High School. Shortly after he started to work as an Assistant for David Thorpe as a Player Development coach and quickly realized his passion. Throughout his career he had plenty of responsibilities as a young and aspiring Assistant Coach in Foshan, China which lead him to becoming an Assistant in Hanau, Germany later. He also was a player development coach and coaching staff member at Hapoel Jerusalem as well as a Head Coach in Prievidza, Slovakia.  

Timestamps for topics:

Finding Ryan:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanpannone/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#RyanPannone #GLeague #HeadCoach #AssistantCoach #PlayerDevelopment #Mentorship

Sponsors:

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

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"Avi":

Avi's career at Maccabi started in 2006 when he became Junior Head Coach and Sports Director while coaching the u16 Israeli National Team. In the 2007 he finally was promoted to the Assistant Coach position at Maccabi Tel Aviv! After working as an Assistant for 5 years, the ownership of Maccabi appointed him to lead the front office and scouting department in order to enhance the organization under Coach Blatt as the Head Coach. Not long after the Euroleague Championship was a in Maccabi's cabinet when the team captured the title at the Final Four in Milano in 2014.

Avi lived through many ups and downs with the club, most notably last season during the 2021/22 season when he was asked to take over Maccabi Tel Aviv as the temporary Head Coach. Avi's role is unique because up until when he took over the club, he not only was serving as an Executive at Maccabi but also as a player development & skills coach with the pros. He honed his skills as a coach while also running the scouting department...a very unique experience all around just to say the least.

In today's episode Avi and me talked about the variety of his experiences as an Executive as well as the Head Coach, as well how those roles intersected. We also talked about relationship building, motivation, handling conflict, team chemistry, the scouting process, gathering good intel, communication internally vs externally and many more topics that are interesting to listen to and compare with some other coaches.

Topics:

Finding Avi:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/avieven13/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#AviEven #MaccabiTelAviv #Maccabi #IsraelBasketball #HeadCoach #FrontOffice #Roles

Sponsors:

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

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"Anton":

Anton Gavel is a former Slovakian basketball player who became a German National Team player as well as Bundesliga legend. Besides having short stints in the ACB with Murcia as well as in the Greek League with Aris, he spent most of his time winning titles with Brose Bamberg as well as FC Bayern Munich, where he finished his career winning 'The Double' (Cup & League) while being the Team-Captain.

Anton is a five-time German League Champion, three-time German Cup winner as well as countless All-Star and MVP honors.

On today's episode with Anton the main topics included highlights from his career as a player, his advice for young players on how to adapt to new cultures, what he expected from Assistant Coaches as a player & coach, the importance of a cohesive coaching staff, fighting with Stefan Weissenboeck during the early stages of their work together and finding a common path, Retirement, Preparing to be a rookie Head Coach, handling family & work and much more.

Topics:

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

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#AntonGavel #Gavel #HeadCoach #Slovakia #RatiopharmUlm #Ulm #Deutschland #RookieHeadCoach

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

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"Will":

Will Weaver is a long-time Basketball coach who's journey has taken him from the Texas Longhorns program through Sam Houston State all the way to the NBA. Along the road he has coached as a Head Coach in the GLeague and as well as in the Australian NBL leading the the Sydney Kings.

Our common path has crossed several times during our "summer jobs", him being with Australia's National Team and me being with Lithuania's National Team.

Today, we talked about our battles with our respective National Teams in various competitions but Will also opened up about his transition periods from taking on different roles with different teams and always looking to grow within that new role. He also addressed the importance of 'setting your north-star' as an organization in order to align each other's vision as well how to balance personal life with professional life...and much more!

Will's Book suggestion:

Dean Smith Book: "Multiple Offense & Defense"

Timestamps for topics:

Finding Will:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachwcw/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#WillWeaver #Coaching #AssistantCoach #CoachingTransitions

Sponsors:

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Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

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DONATE TO UKRAINE:

Lithuania:

https://www.panrs.lt/krasto-apsaugos-ministerijos-rekomendacijos-del-paramos-ukrainai/

Germany:

https://helferschwein.de

International:

https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en/

"Boki":

Boštjan is an accomplished player on various levels, from Europe to NBA, he has seen it all. After starting off as a prospect in Italy and being drafted #15 by the Houston Rockets he spent 6 years in the NBA. The next stages of his career were centered around playing in Europe, going on to play in Russia, Turkey, Germany & Spain while winning various domestic Championships and Cups in all of those countries. Boki retired in 2017 after spending two final seasons in Sevilla and moved on to "winning championships" with his family.

Today, Boki and me talked about a variety of topics, starting off about his experience as a podcaster, through his experience as a player in the NBA as well as Europe, adaptations and communication with coaches. We dove a bit deeper in the communication with Assistant coaches and the responsibilities that they have as well as US vs European coaching styles. Boki also talked about his duties with ELPA, being the Managing Director, he talked about the goals as well as achievements so far and the vision for young players going forward.

Boki's Book suggestion:

Topics:

Finding Boki:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bokinachbar/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#BostjanNachbar #Boki #Slovenia #ELPA #NBA #Communication

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com