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February MVP interview: Bootsy Thornton, Montepaschi Siena
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When he burst on the Euroleague scene with a nifty nickname and a game to match, Bootsy Thornton ended his first season with Montepaschi Siena by averaging the fourth-most points in the highest-scoring Final Four ever. Four seasons later, he is back in Siena, and Montepaschi is soaring again, riding his February MVP performance to the brink of an early playoff berth. Thornton doesn't want to compare this season to his first one in Siena. He knows that good things come to unselfish teams that keep working on short-term goals, so he doesn't want Montepaschi getting ahead of itself even the littlest bit. "It's natural from a fan's perspective to think that way," Thornton told Euroleague.net. "But we as players have to be level-headed and keep our feet on the ground. There's a lot of basketball to play and many things that can happen."
First of all, congratulations for becoming our February MVP. Team success is a big part of this award, and Siena really aced the first half of the Top 16. How did you manage to go 3-0 in such a tough group?
"I think we wanted to be pretty much focused in on defense and that was really the key. We had a letdown before this and it cost us the Italian Cup, and that was something we really wanted to win. So we realized that we had to be focused now on trying to win our games at home with defense and then stealing one on the road. And that's exactly what happened in February: we took care of home and stole one away. Now, we have to keep it going."
Bootsy, how did it feel for you to be recruited back to your old team in Siena, confirming what your contribution meant to the club before?
"It was good to be asked back. And I knew it would be a good situation for me, unlike the last couple teams, where I didn't know the coaches. This time, I knew the coach and he knew me. I knew that they wanted a team with a lot of players contributing, not just one particular guy. And of course, this was my second team in Italy, and we won the Italian championship here and made the Final Four. So after having had success with this team, coming back was definitely great."
How much did you need something like this after your two seasons in Spain?
"Yeah, I needed something new. The situations I had in Spain, I played some and when I did I played OK. They were just different systems and coaching styles. For myself, I would have preferred to play more, but every coach has his system and I don't think I fit into the last couple as much as I do now with this team."
The first time you went to Montepaschi in 2003-04, it ended with a trip to the Final Four and an Italian League title. Does this season have a similar feeling yet?
"We don't want to go that far now. This season is still pretty long. We all know that a lot of things can happen between now and June. That's why we just have to just concentrate on tomorrow's game first and then worry about what comes after that when it's over."
Everyone in Siena was worried when Rimantas Kaukenas got injured for several months. How did the team approach the absence of Kaukenas, who was its top scorer?
"It was difficult for sure. He was giving us anywhere from 15 to 25 points depending on the game. And it wasn't just him, either. Ksistof Lavrinovic got injured for awhile there at the same time, too. We were losing almost 50 points of offense between them, but a lot of guys stepped up and filled the void. We got some more points between Terrell McIntyre and Shaun Stonerook, Romain Sato and me, but there were a lot of different roles to fill, not just offensively, but defense, steals, rebounds, the little things it takes to win. Rimantas was tough to make up for, especially with his post-ups and things that Romain and I had not tried all season, but by everyone adding different parts to their games, we're OK now."
Since head coach Simone Pianigiani took over the bench a year ago, the team has been virtually unbeatable in Italy and is back among the Euroleague elite. What does he do that makes Pianigiani already one of the most successful young coaches in Europe?
"He's always been very vocal about the importance of defense and has a lot of attention to detail. I think he has a good offensive scheme, and on defense makes sure we play hard. He's also good at choosing unselfish guys, too. A lot of our guys like to play defense and like being with each other on court. He and our general manager, Mr. Minucci, did a great job of picking players. Having a lot of unselfish guys on the court helps everyone, him and us. It shows in the two years of success they've been having, last year winning the Italian championship and going far in the ULEB Cup. This year, it's too early to talk yet."
As the team went 3-0 in February, the key might have been the road win at Efes Pilsen. Everybody was talking about the last shot in overtime, when you almost lost the ball but scored. What happened on that shot?
"Well, I thought I was fouled, to be truthful, but the referee didn't think so. The other player swiped down at the ball while I was going up. The ball came loose, but I just stayed with it and it went in. I certainly didn't plan it that way and it wasn't the prettiest shot in the world, but it went in. The game wasn't about that shot, though. All our guys played well. Shaun showed great motivation to win, Terrell hit big shots. Romain played big, as usual. Everyone stepped up to the plate at different times, when needed. Like I said, it's not one guy here. A lot of guys could have been in the running for MVP last month."
The final statement came against Panathinaikos, and you were a big part of the win against the defending champs. What was the game plan?
"It was about taking our opportunities from the way they played their defense. Our coach kept saying that anyone who got an opportunity could not hesitate to take their shots and do their thing. A lot of us got open looks, Romain and I early on, Terrell later. Then Shaun came up big again with 2 huge threes in the second half. That's how we approached the game, to take every opportunity they gave us, and that's how we won it."
Montepaschi went 3-0 to start the Top 16. Even if you won't think about it, do the fans in Siena have the right now to dream about reaching the Final Four?
"It's natural for fans to think that way. In fact, they felt that way here a long time before now, when we started the season with so many wins in the Italian League. It's natural from a fan's perspective to think that way. But we as players have to be level-headed and keep our feet on the ground. There's a lot of basketball to play and many things that can happen. It's not so much how you play now as how you play in the end, too. We had a letdown and found that out in the Italian Cup. We just want to keep playing well now. If we keep it going like this, we'll be OK."
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Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Frank Lawlor, Euroleague.net
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