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Fan Mail: Jasmin Repesa, Lottomatica Roma
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Their team's record might not be among the Euroleague's best, but after reading their questions for head coach Fan Mail guest Jasmin Repesa, it is certain that Lottomatica Roma fans retain high hopes for the near future. Back-to-back home wins to end 2007 against Group C powerhouses Panathinaikos and Real Madrid lifted the aspirations of Roma supporters who had seen the start of the season waylaid by injuries that still plague the team. But as long as there is a glimmer of possibility, they want to know from Repesa if the team's goal, to reach the Top 16, can be salvaged in the last month of the regular season. In particular, they want to know whether help in the form of new players is imminent. "We are now in the market trying to find one or two players to reinforce the team," Repesa explained. "With our bench so short, we need two players as soon as possible. The priority is one perimeter and one big guy. I won't say that one is more important."
Who has been the best player both for performance and for devotion you have ever coached so far?
Alessandro Fiorelli - Italy
"Bodiroga is certainly one of them. He's hard to beat for that combination of performance and devotion. I also have to mention David Rivers, who helped me to win everything we tried for in Turkey at Tofas Bursa, the championship and the cup. He was a coach on the court. I have coached many, many good players, but in this moment, those two come to mind first of all."
Coach, why do we never seem to have the right number of players? Our roster is always too short, our players always injured. I'm sure we have a good team, but we cannot hope to win playing with just seven guys. Sooner or later you'll need to call back Bodiroga, Polesello and Radja! Will you try first to find the new players? Forza Virtus.
Mario - Italy
"Yes, I know that our bench this year has been too short. Unfortunately, we have had many problems. Daniels was hurt before the season and Drejer is another one who is still recovering from surgery and could be back soon. For sure, they are two players who were planned before the season to play small and big forward, but we started season without them. Then we started with a very tough schedule of games on the road for the first part of the season. That made it tough for new players who had to adjust to playing such a tight schedule, guys like Gabini for instance, and Stefansson. Playing every three days and traveling a lot surely contributed to them getting tired and that contributes to injuries. For that reason, we are now in the market trying to find one or two players to reinforce the team. They are needed for practices as well as games. I don't remember the last time we had 10 players practicing, and that is part of the reason for our up-and-down season. For me, the practices are tougher than the games."
Coach Repesa, after his injury, you have been using Roko Leni-Ukic off the bench and Jacopo Giachetti as the starter. Is this a tactical decision, and if so, is it working and do you plan to stick with it? Thanks for your attention. Forza Virtus!
Gianluca - Rome, Italy
"It's a tactical decision to protect Roko as much as possible because he had a pretty serious problem when he was injured in the game against Barcelona more than one month ago. He had an abductor injury, which is a serious problem. Each game since, we have started with Giachetti in order to give him more confidence and opportunities, because when he starts well, we can take advantage of him more and rest Roko. To be sure, Roko came to us to be the first point guard and when he recovers fully we know he'll do as well as he was doing before for us."
Dear coach Jasmin Repesa, I have a question about Marko Popovic, who seems to contribute more points and assists (as well as emotional leadership) to his teams while playing point guard rather than shooting guard. Nonetheless, during Eurobasket 2007 with your Croatian national team and now with Zalgiris Kaunas, he plays more shooting guard than point guard. Why? With best regards,
Mindaugas Matulaitis - Vilnius, Lithuania
"It's an advantage, not a weakness, when a player like Marko is able to play two positions. It depends on the opponent, depends on the roster and depends on the chemistry of the team where you decide to use him, but Marko can play both spots with no problem and that's an advantage. I didn't use him only as a shooting guard, but I tried to protect him so that he wasn't always under pressure at point guard. We only changed the system a litltle offensively to give some of the same opportunities to point guards and shooting guards, like pick-and-roll options and other things. For sure, Marko has great character and personality, and he's a player who is able to play both positions without problems."
Dear, Mr. Repesa. How does it help a team to have big men who can shoot from outside like Lorbek and Fucka on Roma? Regards and all the best in 2008.
Mitja Krizan - Ljubljana, Slovenia
"It's the same kind of advantage that we talked about with Popovic just now, that of playing two positions. Both Gregor and Erazem understand the game and they can play well inside, facing the basket or passing the ball. The only difference is that Fucka is not so young and, unlike a few years ago, I have to be careful how to use him. The season is long and the schedule is tight with games every three days and a lot of travel. That's not easy for a player his age. Fortunately, he is very professional and thinks about taking care of his body. When you talk about Gregor, you are talking about a very experienced player and his kind of experience can help any team a lot."
Hello, Coach. What player do you consider to be the best young Italian playmaker at the moment?
Remi Coquelin - France
"My opinion in this moment is that the best one, how he is playing in this period, is Giuseppe Poeta from Teramo. Our own player, Jacopo Giachetti, has made big improvement this year. Also, Luca Vitali from Montegranaro has been impressive. But Poeta, the way he's playing now, is the biggest surprise at that position among Italian players."
Mr. Repesa. Do you agree that a new center is Lottomatica’s priority now? Thanks
Enrico Leoni - Rome, Italy
"The priority is one perimeter and one big guy. I won't say that one is more important. With our bench so short, we need two players as soon as possible."
David Hawkins seems to be struggling at small forward, the three position. He's a great defender and penetrator, but don't we need his outside shooting to improve, too?
Luigi - Italy
"David is playing now for a big team with a big project. In the past, he was a big player for a small team. He took 25 shots and scored 25 points a lot of games. Now, his numbers aren't so special as before, but his game is what I like, the team likes and the team needs. Usually, he defends the best scorer of the opponent. But, like he did in our last Italian League game at Varese, he also scores 8 or 10 points, and makes 8 assists, 7 rebounds. He can do everything, and that's important for me."
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