Summer League attracts talented coaches, too
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 The chance to play a key role in a new forum for Euroleauge Basketball has drawn some big names to the benches of the first ULEB Summer League, to be held June 28 to July 1 in Jesolo, Italy. Three asssitants for teams who were at the 2007 Final Four in Athens and two recently retired stars will be among the coaches guiding eight teams through four games each at the USL in Jesolo.
Panathinaikos assistant coach Dimitris Itoudis, who was crowned Euroleague champ on May 6 for the third time, was selected to help direct the free agent team named Euroleague in the four-day tournament. Itoudis has been with Panathinaikos since 1999 and he won his previous Euroleague titles in 2000 and 2002. He will coach the Euroleague free agent team alongside Marcelo Nicola, one of the first players from Argentina to make a career in Europe. Nicola retired last season with the 10th-best three-point percentage among Euroleague players who made 85 or more shots from downtown in their careers.
A two-time Euroleague champion, Emanuele Molin of CSKA Moscow, will be on the bench of the free agent team named after the ULEB Cup. Molin won his first Euroleague title with Kinder Bologna in 2001 and his second with CSKA in 2006. He has won various league and cup titles in both Italy and Russia, as well. He will be joined on the ULEB Cup bench by the legendary Riccardo Pittis, whose 19-year career was as noted for success as for his unique approach to the game of basketball. Pittis remains tied for the most steals-per-minute ever in the Euroleague.
A coach who made his debut at the Final Four this season, Andrija Gavrilovic of Unicaja, has the unique opportunity of coaching the Chinese Basketball Association entry in the USL, which includes seven of the best young talents from that country's national league.
Meanwhile, two of the club teams going to Jesolo come with key members of their coaching staffs. Zalgiris Kaunas has its head coach and current Lithuanian League champion Rimantas Grigas in charge of its USL team, while Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv brings Guy Goodes, former player and current assistant coach, to run its team in the tournament.
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Euroleague.net
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