New year, new coach, new hope

May 24, 2012

Before talking basketball, let me wish everyone a happy New Year and good health in 2010. Most of us athletes take good health for granted, but I think the holidays remind us that we are very fortunate. That was the case for me, at least, when another Martynas visited our team for a Euroleague game in December. Martynas is 11 and in a wheelchair due to disabilities he was born with. He's also a great lover of basketball and a big Zalgiris fan. Having heard it was his dream to see us play, the club arranged for Martynas to be a VIP for our game against Montepaschi Siena. He told them that Mantas Kalnietis and I were his favorite players, so we were chosen to give him a couple presents and talk with him. He was pretty shy at first, maybe a little shocked at the moment, but it was really nice and touching for us, too, to meet such a special kid and make his day better. I remember that when I played at Duke University would visit local hospitals or talk to kids with cancer, so to do something like that here at home was pretty awesome. For us, it doesn't take much to meet a kid like Martynas, talk a bit and sign a shirt. But then you see how much it means to him, it really makes his day, and you know how important it is to help make a dream come true.

Entering the new year, as you probably know, we at Zalgiris have our backs against the wall. We need to win our last two Euroleague regular season games - and get some help - if we want to advance to the Top 16. Believe it or not, I don't think of that as a lot of pressure. In fact, now is a kind of exciting time for us. We know how important the games are. At the same time, we've had a head coaching change and had the chance for a full week of practice wth the new one, Ramunas Butautas, whom everyone knows as the last Lithuanian national team coach. We have played one game under him already, and I can say he's bringing new things to the team, maybe some of what we were missing. One thing that you'll definitely see is that we are improving our fastbreak. After rebounds, we are taking every chance and flying down the court. After made buckets, too. In our first Lithuanian League game playing like that, we got close to 30 or 40 easy points on fastbreaks. I know it doesn't compare to the Euroleague, but before this, our fastbreak wasn't necessarily so good, which meant we had to get all our points from possess offense. So we hope to now add quite a few fastbreak points, and in that way, create better chances to score. Also, our defense is more aggressive. We are in defensive attack mode, whether on pick-'n'-rolls or following guys through screens or pressuring the ball all 40 minutes. I know that our point guard, Mantas, feels good playing more on fastbreak. He can get the ball and go, finish or dish off. Maybe he has a harder time in a halfcourt offense. In that first game of fastbreaking, he did a terrific job and looked very comfortable, like a fish in water.

One thing we have in our favor now, especially in our first game of 2010 at home against Cibona, is our fans. Despite our situation, they never lose hope. The hard-core Zalgiris fans are always full of support, and no matter what, we know that they will be with us every step of the way. I am confident that our fans are with us 100 percent and believe that we can still make it to the Top 16. Maybe the media here is a little skeptical, considering that we need to win the next two games and also have other teams help us in order for them to advance. But I don't listen much to them. We're just trying to do our job. All we can do is win both games and see where it leads us. With one win this week against Cibona, we can bring all the hope back, so our main focus is that.

So, of course, I'm still hoping this Euroleague season is not over for us and we'll make to top 16. Either way, I've learned a lot for myself that I can apply this season and next. I just want to be more consistent. I got familiar now with the Euroleague and with European basketball again, and I think I will do a better job. With a new coach being here, things are going to be different, too. I'm not happy with every game I've had, but because it's my first year back in Europe, it was going to be a learning process. I've tried my best every single game and learned a lot just trying. What sticks out most about the Euroleague after eight games is that night-in and night-out, whenever you play a Euroleague game, you have to bring your best. If you come on court with anything less, you might get embarrassed. Our last game in Barcelona taught that lesson well. You can go somewhere thinking you're ready, but at this high a level, if you don't play that way, you can get killed by 30 points. The other thing I learned is you have to play, like Barcelona does, with confidence. When you play against them, you feel their confidence. They have a lot of high-level players who have been together for a while, they are coached well, and they know they are good. The confidence factor means a lot to the way they are playing. The Euroleague is every team's biggest game of the week, and everyone approaches the Euroleague that way, giving their best, giving 110% every night. I have learned that both as a team and individually, you have to bring that 110 percent.

So here we are, with lessons learned, at the key point of the season for us. I'm really excited for the next couple games. I think we have a good shot. We're improving every day now, and for us, basically, there is nothing to lose. The turn of the calendar is in our favor, too. We can forget what happened in 2009 and go for it all in 2010.

POSTED BY

MARTYNAS POCIUS - KAUNAS, LITHUANIA

DATE:

Monday, January 04, 2010