His other three counterparts at the 2004 Final Four are all at least a decade older than him and started their head coaching careers in the 1970's. In the same sense that his team is something of a young, unexpected guest in Tel Aviv , so then Skipper Bologna coach Jasmin Repesa can be considered as he makes his first Final Four appearance also. Anyone who discounts Repesa or his team as legitimate trophy contenders is playing with fire, however. Skipper has already beaten all three of those other teams, and is the only opponent to emerge victorious from both Moscow and Tel Aviv this season. While reading this Euroleague.net Final Four head coaches interview, one thing becomes clear: Repesa and his team are not to be intimidated. They are confident of shining moments to come, and no one can say how soon. "We experienced some difficult losses early in the season, but some of the losses that we had for sure help us now," Repesa told Euroleague.net. "Experience is a part of life and it's one of the most important things that has helped us grow as a team."

At age 61, CSKA Moscow head coach Dusan Ivkovic is the most veteran Euroleague coach on the bench this season. He is also the most experienced one in Tel Aviv and the only returning coach from last year's Final Four. All told, this marks his fifth Final Four in 11 years with four different teams: PAOK in 1993, Olympiacos in 1997 and 1998, CSKA in 2003 and this season. His title with Olympiacos in 1997 keeps Ivkovic, always a direct, open-minded coach who says what he means, coming back for more. And in this second installment of Euroleague.net's Final Four head coaches interview series, Ivkovic sends a clear message: he doesn't want to wait until the 2005 Final Four in Moscow for another Euroleague title. "Our idea is winning," Ivkovic told Euroleague.net. "If someone wants to give us the role of favorite, I am willing to accept it. We have a competitive team, with a winning mentality, and these are our reasons to be confident."

He had been one of Europe's premier players in the 1960's and 1970's, and then he embarked on a coaching career that has already surpassed 20 years. Now, for the first time, Montepaschi Siena head coach Carlo Recalcati has reached a Final Four. And although it is Montepaschi's second consecutive Final Four trip, this one was even less expected. When he arrived to Siena last fall, Recalcati was expecting his new team to play the ULEB Cup. Instead, Montepaschi entered the Euroleague late and landed in one of the toughest regular season groups ever. Recalcati proved the perfect personality in a slow but sure progression that saw Montepaschi clinch the Final Four on the last possible day, much as the Italy had done the previous summer to reach the Olympics under Recalcati. The first subject of Euroleague.net's Final Four head coaches interview series, Recalcati brings a calm confidence to the task of winning. "I'm not so quiet as I may look," Recalcati told Euroleague.net. "Sometimes, I come close to losing my mind, but I try to never lose it completely. I have to transmit certainty to my players."

Over the last two years during basketball season, adventurous Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Pini Gershon could be found in the Alaskan tundra, on safari in Africa, or at least planning his next trip to some similarly remote place. As he told Euroleague.net in an extensive Final Four interview, a return to coaching was not on his mind. "I wasn't waiting to start my career again," Gershon said. "I was enjoying retirement and having fun. I went all over the world putting my Xs on the map." Next week, Gershon wants to mark his X closer to home, in Tel Aviv, in the form of victory for Maccabi in the 2004 Final Four. The chance to bring more basketball success to a country full of Maccabi fans is the reason that Gershon came out of retirement. "It was the only reason," Gershon said. "It was the challenge that attracted me."