Series of unfortunate events derail Pitino’s tenure as Ethniki coach

Rick Pitino didn’t even stand a chance after a series of unfortunate events appear to have derailed the American’s tenure as head coach of the Greek national team.

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Rick Pitino’s time as head coach of the Ethniki appears to be over even before his tenure began. Appointed back in November, Pitino was supposed to help guide Greece to the Tokyo Olympics, but a series of unfortunate events appear to have derailed the American’s tenure in the Greece hot seat.

Perhaps the finishing blow has been the spread of coronavirus pandemic as the entire world comes to grips with shutdowns due to physical distancing and quarantine. Despite the persistence of Japan and the International Olympic Committee, the 2020 Olympics will indeed be postponed as both parties hope to hold the games in the summer of 2021.

But besides the pandemic, there have been various factors that have ALREADY MADE Pitino’s tenure with the Ethniki turbulent – to say the least.

Pitino offered his services to the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) shortly after Greece’s disappointing run at the 2019 FIBA World Cup – a tournament the Ethniki were among the favourites to win but crashed out before the knockout round.

 Pitino stated in his press conference that it was an honour to coach the national team and that money wasn’t the priority as EOK president, George Vassilakopoulos, accepted Pitino’s offer to coach Greece at this summer’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

For a country crazy about sports, in particular the sport of basketball, it wasn’t difficult to understand the hype around the Ethniki even after the disappointment of the World Cup. After all, a lot of blame for Greece’s shortcomings at the World Cup felt at the feet of Thanasis Skourtopoulos, who, in the wake of the announcement, was, in a sense, demoted to serving as a co-head coach for the EuroBasket qualifiers exclusively.

With Pitino installed as head coach and with the Ethniki expecting to have Giannis Antetokounmpo, arguably the best player in the world at the moment, available for the Olympics, the Ethniki’s hopes of securing a first-ever Olympic medal drastically improved.

But Pitino’s appointment as head coach wasn’t welcomed by everybody, especially after the American spent more than half of the 2018/2019 season on the Panathinaikos bench. As Greek basketball enthusiasts already know, the divide between Panathinaikos and archrival Olympiacos runs deep and deep enough to carry over to international basketball. But the situation reached a boiling point when Pitino was appointed as head coach of Panathinaikos in late November as the American head coach replaced Argyris Pedoulakis just over a month into the season.

Just days later, news broke of a letter from Olympiacos’ Georgios Printezis, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Antonis Koniaris indicating that they would rather not play for the Ethniki while Pitino was installed as head coach. The players voiced their concerns about Pitino coaching Greece and Panathinaikos concurrently and what that would mean for the national team going forward. Already a large portion of players for the Ethniki currently ply their trade with Panathinaikos, and the fear from the Olympiacos trio was that the Erythrolefki players would be marginalized in Pitino’s plans. 

Pitino seemingly hoped to calm the tension between the camps of the Eternal Rivals by suggesting that he would love to see Vassilis Spanoulis back with the Ethniki just a few weeks later. Spanoulis last suited-up for the Ethniki at EuroBasket 2015, posting 10 points and five assists against Spain in a heartbreaking quarter-final defeat to eventual champions Spain. One of the best players Greece has produced in recent years, Spanoulis remains highly-regarded in EuroLeague circles even in the latter stages of his career. So, the prospect of Spanoulis making a return to the Ethniki, even if it was just Pitino making bold claims, was certainly welcomed by the Greek press and fans alike.

But as much as Pitino was welcoming towards players like Spanoulis, others like Ioannis Bourousis appear to have been outcast from the Ethniki even before Pitino held his first practice. In a recent discussion with SDNA, Bourousis explained the reasoning behind calling time on his international career and also touched on how he felt insulted by comments made by Pitino.

“But beyond that, there are reasons why I made this decision. To explain, I lost my father on Friday morning in Karditsa. On Monday afternoon, [Rick] Pitino is announced as head coach of the Ethniki. The funeral was on Sunday, and on Monday, I read about responses given by Pitino – not just about me, but other players – about how he doesn’t know who Ioannis Bourousis is. I’m not nobody. I played basketball with four screws in my knee. But when I hear that the head coach of the national team doesn’t know who I am, and not just me but other players, I felt insulted,” Bourousis revealed.

Bourousis, even when he was playing his club basketball in China, still made trips to Europe for the World Cup qualifying campaign even with the likes of EuroLeague-based players and NBA players not participating due to scheduling constraints. While he might not have offered the same level of contributions that cemented his place as one of the best big-men to play for the Ethniki, his leadership in a tricky qualifying path was certainly needed amongst a far-less experienced group of players en route to qualifying for the World Cup.

And perhaps it’s scheduling constraints that will rule out Pitino’s stint with the Ethniki even if the American coach doesn’t want to admit it himself. Pitino recently accepted the head coaching position at Iona College for the start of the 2020/2021 college basketball season, a move that essentially forced Panathinaikos’ hand to part ways with Pitino earlier this month.

But Pitino did state that he would honour all of his obligations in Greece, though it remains to be seen what the postponement of the Olympics to 2021 will mean. In terms of the EOK’s perspective, however, Vassilakopoulos did state previously that Pitino’s place on the Greece bench had nothing to do with the coach’s tenure with Panathinaikos. 

A saga that already has many chapters may add a few more before it’s clear what Greek basketball fans can expect for the Ethniki in 2021 and beyond.

Image Source: to10.gr

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