Simonas Baranauskas · @LithuaniaBasket
29th Nov 2013 from TwitLonger
Full interview with Jonas Vainauskas in English. | cc: @ganchetto @Primozbrezec @Eurohoopsnet.
After last season’s fiasco it seemed impossible to fall even lower. Does yesterday’s game change this perception?
There are no limits to falling. The people behind the management need to take full responsibility. They shouldn’t be allowed in such duties.
Dirk Bauermann’s methods are seemingly not working any more. Do you see a future for this coach in the team?
It is too late to fire the German, it will not help. He shouldn’t have been signed in the first place. Last spring, he already showed that his capabilities do not meet the requirements of a team of this caliber. The coach showed the same with the Polish national team, which suffered an absolute fiasco in the EuroBasket. These terrible performances keep happening. After the championship, he was saying that those four defeats was what could have been expected by the Polish team.
I really wish that people, who are making decisions, looked back at their actions and what is happening in general. This team hasn’t got long. Either it returns to what brought success in the past, or it continues dying and sooner rather than later terminates its existence altogether. I don’t think that a team playing like this is of interest to anyone. I can only the two first quarters of each game, because everything is clear at that stage.
Has the team ever been booed by the home fans in the past?
From 1997 to 2011, that has not happened a single time. The fans expressed their discontent too late. The coach saying that fans did the right thing, because the team deserved it, makes me nauseous. He said it in a calm voice. What are you actually doing, so fans don’t need to boo you every time?
There’s no need to talk about the team’s game, because it’s non-existent. There are 5-6 players in the team, who meet the Euroleague level, the other six would find it hard finding a job in the LKL. That shows at the highest level. Everyone has a scouting team, which analyses opponents in every single aspect. The others are doing their job, like we used to in the past. It used to be a question of whether we would win or lose by two points. For me, it’s difficult to watch the performance, when the game is over after the first quarter.
What are Lietuvos Rytas’ chances in Eurocup, VTB League and against Zalgiris?
The situation in Eurocup is very similar. Like always, there are 10-12 solid teams that have a stable rotation and know how to use their players. Lietuvos Rytas is not one of those teams. There are more disappointments to be had. The team is managed in an amateurish, impulsive way, living and dying by chance. Until it is managed by professionals, the situation will not change. I don’t know if we need better proof than what we see on Thursday and Friday evenings.
The current Lietuvos Rytas is strong enough to win against Zalgiris, but it shouldn’t be the main goal of the club. No matter who the opponent is, the team is not ready to play at the highest level. If the Kaunas club prepares accordingly over the next half a year, they will have just big of a chance to become LKL champions.
The positive start of the season had given everyone hope…
The start of the season wasn’t that successful. The team played against Belgian, Latvian and German teams. Panathinaikos still cannot find their game, losing three times and taking three wins either after overtime or after difficult battles. Jonas Maciulis’ club will fight for the fourth place with Crvena Zvezda in Group D. It’s not typical of them. They have a wonderful name, an amazing brand, but they’re losing and not finding any answers. This year, their road in Euroleague should end pretty soon.
After the loss to Laboral Kutxa in Siemens Arena, Dirk Bauermann punished the player physically. What do you think about that?
He is a circus clown. It would be the same of the coach of Atlantas Klaipeda [Lithuanian football team] would get to coach Bayern Munich.
What needs to be done to lure the fans back to the arena after such losses?
Together, we have to demand for change. First of all, in the management, which is responsible for choosing the coaching staff and the players. I was ready to come back to Lietuvos Rytas, but my father did not keep his promise. From this moment on, I have a very reserved views on any perspectives with the club. However, if I am free and can help the team, I will do so without hesitation.
What plans do you have for the nearest future?
Recently, I gave a two-hour lecture in the Lithuanian Sports University about running a Euroleague club. Alongside the academic activity, I’m consulting 3-4 Lithuanian and foreign clubs. I am also waiting for offers from teams, who could give me the necessary instruments, so I could work at a level I am used to.