In his final blog covering the GB U20s’ Division B European Championships campaign in Sofia, Bulgaria, Duco van Oostrum asks, “where do we go from here?”
The Olympics are here. The pinnacle of GB basketball, maybe forever, or another 70 years, when London is awarded the Olympic bid again. Or maybe this is just the start, with qualification for Rio 2016 the next realistic target for all the talents pushing for their place on the world stage of elite basketball.
Those diametrically opposed scenarios are linked to the GB youth programmes, in particular the U20 and that ephemeral thing called Futures. To qualify for Rio 2016, we would realistically look at players in the age range from 23-30 then, most of them having gone through these youth programmes. Ideally, there would be an NBA superstar, some NBA role players, and players performing in the highest European competitions.
One of the predictors of future performance is the international success of those youth programmes up to now. Has GB performed at a ‘top 12 world’ level in these age groups? Oops. Not quite.
While there is individual talent on the teams spread across different generations, GB has never been able to pull it together to get promotion out of the B-division, let alone challenge for the medals in the Division A—a minimum requirement. It’s not surprising to see the Div A medal count over the years and note the familiar top nations in Eurobasket (Spain, Lithuania, France, etc). The individual top talent there are also already ‘draftable’ or drafted and already play in major Euro competitions.
I’ve been to the last 4 GB U20s’ tournaments and to England youth Europeans. What constantly surprises me is that people unfamiliar with European national basketball think that GB is just stacked with talent and they should easily win these competitions.
Doesn’t GB have all these players playing on a scholarship at a US college, and isn’t the NCAA the best basketball in the world? The answer is simply that the better teams can draw on a bigger pool of players, have players already playing in a domestic pro-competition (and not just sitting on the bench) or an international one (the MVP of the U20s, Ondrej Balvin, plays for Cajasol), and have huge basketball traditions.
Yes, our teams have MBA, Dan Clark, Andrew Lawrence, Ovie Soko, Devon, Ryan Richards, but other teams have multiples of those on one team. For many of our players in US college, the big question will be, what comes after? Will I be able to secure a big pro-contract? For many of the best teams, the question for the player is, will I go to college as a ‘one-and done’ (Poland’s 7-footer Karnowski goes to Gonzaga this year), can I get a better buy-out of my pro-contract and move (Abrines for Spain), can I improve my current contract?
The teams finishing above GB U20s this year, for example, are stacked in that regard, Poland’s dream generation (and they actually failed), Israel (pros in the tough Israeli league), Bulgaria (major players on top Italian teams, Ivanov, Tenchev), Czech Republic (3 super quality players, Kriz, Balvin, Mares), Croatia (not an individual highlight, but a collective machine). How many of our U20s teams and Futures of the past have secured significant pro contracts or now play in the NBA?
I think it’s time for a reality check.
Of course this doesn’t mean there isn’t talent in the UK and for as long as I can remember it’s been about unlocking this huge basketball potential in the UK, athletes, a national sporting tradition, passionate fans, and money. Just not in basketball. But the potential….? This was (and is) one of the big aims of the GB programme, unleashing this potential, and using the Olympics as the key to that release.
Quite a bit of money was eventually put into this programme and the heroics of Chris Finch’s vision for the future and the commitment of players eventually saw the team qualify for Eurobasket and secure an Olympic place.
Rightly, there’s jubilation about this massive achievement, but my big worry is that it is an end target, with most people within the GB programme leaving after the Olympics, funding cut, and players focusing on other matters than GB basketball. Who will carry the torch to Rio 2016?
One of the remarkable things about the ‘GB vision’ is that it has been a national project carried out almost exclusively by those without a British passport. It’s as if the project was outsourced to Australia, Canada, and the US, since the UK basketball world was so messed up internally and didn’t have any history of international success, so it was perhaps natural to look abroad.
But almost every single paid position? And what’s going to happen now towards 2016 when the funding probably means the foreign legion salaries cannot be paid anymore? Maybe back to that good-old UK volunteer structure that has led to anyone with basketball aspirations leaving the country as soon as possible (players and coaches)?
Finally, the U20s this year and players designated for the future GB senior programme. They finished 6th. I maintain, it is a good result and equals the best ever achieved, especially when comparing the make up of this team to previous ones. Do people remember where Dan Clark, MBA, and those players finished when playing for U20s? But 6th this year feels awful, and it was because GB were one win against Finland away from historic promotion. The entire tournament hinged on this game.
This is my personal reading of the collapse in that game. The first three games, GB had surprised everyone. Three out of three, group winners in the group of death, and they even beat Croatia by double figures (the later winner of the tournament!).
How can a team that does so well, suddenly collapse in one game? The fourth quarter had been the bread and butter of GB, but now it proved Finnish feeding time. The loss to Belarus and the two consecutive rest days killed GB—that’s my conclusion. How is that possible?
As most people reading this blog know, the GB U20s came together late, publicity was non-existent, and they had new coaches, the latest additions to the GB non-British staff. Coach Dave Smart, especially, came with a terrific CV and basketball results in Canadian college basketball. He was thrown in front of a group of 13 players, not chosen by himself.
At the last moment, Devon joined the group. In spite of that, the team performed well. Coach Smart is a coach from the college tradition. Used to having total control over his players and able to mould them into the players that match his vision, he has success with the Carleton programme, recruiting the players that fit his style, and being able to break them down and then build them up again.
It was immediately evident that that style proved to be a severe culture shock to the players. These players commit to the national team (there are many who don’t), put their game on the line, and, instead of using the summer to rewind, go to summer school, work on individual aspects of the game, decide to represent their country.
Unfortunately, coach Smart’s illness meant he spent only a short time with the team prior to the tournament. There is absolutely no question about Coach’s basketball expertise. The team was better prepared for games because of intensive film and scouting, and with game plans than ever before.
What got to the team was the relentless breaking-down of players, with no let up. Because of the time constraints of the tournament, there was no time to build a player back up again, as there would be in a college season. I don’t want to give specific examples, but the manner of communication with players and others on the GB team was highly charged. The entire concept of the European tournament of 10 days and the traditions that go with that were not part of coaches’ experience.
The Finland game again. Devon sits out the Belarus game because of a niggle. GB lose their first game. Players receive more hair-dryer treatment, and more, and more. For 2 very long rest days, without a game to relieve the pressure of the hotel, the practice, the gym sessions. I invite analyses of performances of individual players pre- and post rest days. Some of the players had no desire to be there anymore and their game confidence was unrecognisable.
Finland made a run in the fourth quarter, and GB collapsed. Rather than regrouping and full of confidence, the team now missed lay ups and had a different look over them. It must have been a horrible experience for them and a horrific one to watch. The clash of cultures to me had a devastating effect on performance. With the loss to the Czechs and the ‘miraculous’ 26 point-win by the Croatians, GB were out of out of the promotion slots.
The tournament wasn’t over. I have so much admiration for this team. In one of the best games of the tournament, GB beat the Belgians in OT, behind Ali’s 37points, Devon’s double-double, Louis and Joe’s shooting heroics, Jesse’s shot-blocking, and Connor’s clutch play—but it was all the players.
Since the GB website for U20s doesn’t appear to be working over the weekend, this was a phantom game for them (no reports, interviews, etc, in spite of all having been provided immediately by the paid GB photographer—another reason why basketball perhaps suffers in the UK? Can’t get the publicity right).
It really was a great game, where the players grouped together and showed their superb team ethic . The second half of the final game v Poland was a coaching disgrace—I really mean that. Rather than letting the boys lose with dignity and have a positive end to the tournament, coach decided to go in extreme yoyo sub mode, making sure chemistry on the floor would not work, providing choice comments audible to all.
It was vindictive, without any respect, and embarrassing to watch what happened in the name of GB. Lee and Zac got 1.48min in the entire tournament at the end.
Luckily, at the final presentation, the team were able to bond together. Devon deservedly received the All-Tournament medal with the GB team giving him a loud ovation; Devon finished the tournament first in assists (6.4pgame), 4th in scoring (20.6), 1st in fouls draw (9 pg); Ali finished 3rd in scoring (20.7); Louis finished 2nd in 3-point percentage; Joe 6th. Players had really done well and stepped up, hopefully making the summer basketball for GB a positive experience.
The final bit of this report has been difficult to write and I still don’t know whether I’ve done right. The reason I’ve done it is to point out some of the dynamics of the tournament, but also this big question of ‘what next’? How do we get to Rio 2016? How does the programme function?
We can read and write all the strategy documents we want, but it’s then what happens on the ground, in the games, and in the manner of respect, where the clash between rhetoric and reality hits home.
Duco.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
A very important question. Backwards is my guess.
A really excellent report by Duco.
It covers so much of what needs to be done within English/GB basketball, most especially if one reads between the lines of what Duco has written.
No question that recruiting coaches and “advisers” from abroad, even if they are successful within their own programs, is not always the way to go.
So much more needs to be done to develop in-house coaches, but, therein lies the probem.
Roy,
In my humble opinion. It is not a matter of developing in house coaches (Don’t even get me started on the Basketball Coaching certification process, otherwise known as throw your money in a hole for nothing in return…)
There are plenty of coaches who deserved the opportunity to show what they can do, it is a disgrace that none got that chance.
realmente desolador, aunque es asi en los ultimos 20 años,parece que la “mejor escuela britanica” es la de canarias! en fin no puede ser que despues de tanto dinero invertido, el vertice del triangulo del baloncesto llege a su punto culmen la OLIMPIADA y en tu CASA, y te presentes sin un solo jugador que pueda jugar de BASE correctamente,…lamentable!
Actually it has been a lot more than 20 years that the game has been suffering, although it is arguable that the Academy in the Canaries is the best basketball “school”.
Our guards could certainly improve, although the best one was not selected for the team.
Money invested? Certainly not into English basketball
Wow. Thank you for such an honest appraisal Duco. I could not quite believe the negativity eminating from the GB U20′s and a huge congratulations must go to the players for their performances in spite of prolonged and sole destroying dressing downs. As rightly commented, these guys commit hugely over and above their club / college seasons to pull on the shirt and that must be respected at all levels. I have a very short and often confusing insight in to player pathways for U20′s but understand one thing. These guys give everything for their chance and what is imperative is that clear pathways, support and encouragement is provided consistently through their personal seasons commitments to keep moral and maintain this squads spirit and drive. Mark Gamble.
Reads very similar to the situation at England U18′s with Steve Bucknall. Shame Duco has not witnessed his “performances” at U18 camp and Euros. Takes players he does not want, ridicules them and breaks them down if not physically, mentally.
These Coaches need a mental assessment for their suitability for the job not just basketball coaching.
Sometimes not to be selected is better for a youths development so they do not suffer physical and or mental torture.
I think it’s interesting that both the top level coaches (u18s and u20s), with excellent coaching CV’s, have both chosen this approach with the teams. It actually makes sense from my experience with English Basketball. A lot of the players at national level think they are better than what they actually are and they are constantly told they are great by parents and poor coaches who don’t want to lose the players to other teams, rather than actually trying to develop them further (Anyone who actually thinks that we currently have the same junior talent as some of the top european countries, obviously doesn’t know the game very well. – That doesn’t mean I don’t think we have the potential however!).
In order to run a successful team with this collection of supposed talent, the coach needs to break them down a bit so that they can mold a balanced team. I totally understand this, but perhaps the problem is that they don’t spend enough time with the team to build back up the confidence necessary to then be successful in the European tournaments.
Maybe there needs to be more time spent as a national team group as they progress through the age categories so that this chemistry can develop and it isn’t left to top coaches to have to do this before competition. I also think that maybe if we know that this is the style these coaches adopt, why not bring in a motivator and positive influence style of coach as an assistant who can counter some of this?
I have only really had the pleasure of experiencing the england/gb set up in recent years. I have low expectations as i make the assumption that tese roles are very poorly paid or volunteer based (as much of basketball in this country is). I am more concerned with the under 18 team as i feel they have a solid nucleus and some talented players, especially Mo. I worry that every selection is a tick box event. Two big guys who can block shots but stuggle to score outide the paint. A few athletes who drive to the rim, a couple of designated shooters and some fast pg’s. My poblem is that if you watch other team they are multidimensional and hard to guard because the guys off the bench bring added dimensions to the game.
England has always been so obsessed with copying the american blueprint of extreme athleticism, pressure defence and fast breaking, but we sacrifice the some of our strengths if we just try to build a team one way. Each year there are different players and that should bring different opportunites to play in different ways. Make the team fit the personnel, not the other way round.
And why travel to belgium to run crazy amounts of suicides, you can do that in london, antional team training should need no fitness in it, just tell the players they need to fufill a certain fitness requirement at the begginning of the season test them at the start of the camp and then spend 5 day getting better at the important stuff like playing together and runnign the offensive and defensive sets.
sorry end of rant.
thanks for your blog Duco and i know that Devon inspire many young players who see him as a guy who knows how to play the game the right way
Very good point about trying to play an American style. This is painfully evident with the senior men and their All-American (1 Canadian) coaching staff. Let’s waste 10-15 secs of the shot clock blindly trying to get the ball to Luol Deng and 4 other guys stand and watch him go 1 on 3. They were slightly better last night but almost no evidence of an offensive system involving 5 guys trying to get high % shots.
Were we watching different games? You do mean the Brazil match, right?
Maybe you should bone up a bit more on international ball.
Give the guys their due, it was a huge performance against a tough team. Deng brought team mates into the game and several of them stepped up.
When is all this snide commentary and innuendo going to stop? Get over it.
Brasil had a shocker in terms of shooting % which is why the game was close. Yes the team played slightly better than the previous game but we are making it harder on ourselves to win games. We have little talent so we should be maximising our potential with solid team basketball and executing the basics well to give oursleves some easy looks. there is far too little movement off the ball and far to many quick shots and 1on1 scenarios.
Compare the way we play to the other nations and there is a huge difference as they work as a team to get open shots whereas we just seem to spread the floor and spot up while Lu or nate force a shot.
As I said, there were moments agaisnt Brasil where we showed improvements but we could be doing better & it’s frustrating to watch after 6 years of working towards this goal of the Olympics and we don’t even appear to be giving our best effort: i.e close game vs Brasil in the last few minutes, we turn it over and Joel freeland enbds up giving up and and1 situation because our other 3 players are still in the other half watching instead of sprinting back to help out on D! I’m sure they’re tired at that stage of the game but it’s the 4th qtr of an Olympic game!!!
We’ve gone off point here slightly and this probably belongs on the other thread!
First of all, great job by Duco keeping us informed of how the team did. However, instead of the focus being on the team finishing 6th, a good achievement, it seems to have turned into a lament about how badly the boys were treated, “vindictive,” “torture,” come on! Yes, any kid who wants to make his or hers country’s team is going to have to sacrifice a lot, and even more if they are selected. But, that shouldn’t mean that they are then molly-coddled because they have “made it.” Putting on an international shirt is a privilege and the players should be prepared to bust their butts not just to get there, but while they are there as well, and if they don’t want to, are too soft or immature to handle it and don’t have the physical and/or mental fortitude, then don’t go in the first place. I have a hard time believing that those in the NCAA or are playing in Europe haven’t experienced what coach Smart demanded out of them. What do you think it’s like in Croatia, Serbia, Italy and Greece? I have seen coaches from those countries who are ultra-tough on their players, at all age groups, and they players either handle it or they are cut. GB had to know what it was getting into with coach Smart and therefor the players and parents should have known as well. How did that communication break down? I spoke with several coaches after the national camp in Bristol and they were over-the-moon with the abilities of Smart and even spoke of how some players were going to handle him being so tough. I also personally know two coaches in England, and surely there must be more, who follow Smart and the Carleton program avidly and they certainly knew what the players were in for. I would suggest that if GB, parents and players don’t want Smart back, or if he decides he doesn’t want to come back, then it will be a huge loss to GB basketball.
I appreciate the comments. There’s plenty of other stuff in there aside from the comments about coach. Usually, the reflections have something about coaching as well, and I have stated my personal views. According to many parents, I have been too restrained. Anyone who has watched me coach, knows that I am pretty vocal and demanding of my players. The biggest thing with U20s was the different situation of being with college players who you can treat anyway you want and national team players for an 11-day tournament. You can also see that I’ve been highly complimentary of coach’s preparation, hard work and knowledge of the game (even though I also feel he missed out a tactical adjustment in the 4th quarter by playing the 2-guard system there when it wasn’t working). This isn’t about players wanting to be molly-coddled (great word) it is about human interaction.
What was deeply upsetting about the final game, for example. Every single other team in the tournament was afforded the dignity of leaving the tournament with handshakes, hugs for everyone, and a feeling of a job done, whether successful or not. It’s the end of a year. The players were not given any of that and it was embarrassing to watch. Ask anyone who was there. That is not done in international play. Imagine a senior on a US/Canadian college team playing his final game and final minute being treated like that and I think you get the picture. Other teams commented on it and it was not a good team for the image of the GB national team program.
Although he was successful, here in Canada, with his college teams and is a quality coach in the strict sense of the word coach, it was decided not to appoint Coach Smart as the Canadian Mens Team Head Coach, but to appoint him as the Assistant Coach.
There is a great difference between being “ultra-tough” on players and being disrespectful to players and not giving encouragement when it is due.
As I understand it from this report, it was a shame that these players were not offered any congratulations or goodwill for their future from Coach Smart at the end of the competition.
I suppose every coach has certain failings.
I’m not trying to be the counsel for the defence of Dave Smart, but as a former journo, I have a hard time believing there isn’t more to this story than we all know. I am not accusing Duco or anyone else from misrepresenting the truth, you were there, you saw what you saw. I would hold out a final opinion until we hear from the coach himself. What made him act the way he did? Something to due with the illness he suffered, something in his personal life, he was misinformed as to what to expect from the players and performances. He is certainly not someone who is accustomed to losing, as his record shows, but I have never heard of him acting this way in the past, but I don’t know everything to know about him. If we don’t can answers from the coach, then the case – if there is one – should be taken to GB and answers should be demanded. As for positions with the Canadian men, my understanding is he is in the mix to be appointed as the next head coach following Leo Rauntins resignation after the men failed to qualify for London. I may be misinformed, but I haven’t heard of any appointments since Rauntins left. “Where to we go from here?” Rio 2016. London is about promoting our sport to a wide audience in Britain, but 2016 will be the measuring stick of any progress, and if GB fails to qualify, I wonder about future funding for basketball. That’s on the shoulders of some of the U20s and it’s going to be a tough ask. And finally, if GB cannot produce guards, especially point guards, and not just one or two every once in a while, and if we can’t produce shooters, no coach is going to be able to achieve true success with the program. Look at the shooting stats over the last two summers of age group competitions and FG percentage, free throw percentage and 3 pt percentage are all pretty poor. Those of two key areas highlighted by the Areas of Emphasis, which is a document that needs to be embraced and followed, not just by national teams coaches, APC and regional coaches, but especially club coaches. The national team coaches, et al., simply don’t have the time to teach a players how to shoot from the ground up, for example. I don’t even want to start on all the technical and tactical garbage I have seen throughout the age groups at club level.
I think the real problem does not lie with coaches or anyone else from overseas, but lies entireley within the present state of basketball in England. (GB is mainly English)
I suspect that everyone realises what are all the various problems, but it would seem to me that due to such apathy / laissez faire within the general basketball community and the fact that, seemingly at least, most are content to put up with the present administration and organization nothing much is going to change.
I am in no way suggesting a revolution, but until a sufficient number of basketball “shareholders” voice their concerns and insist an evolutionary change takes place, the future looks very very bleak.
Just watched Australia vs GB Olympic group game with Adam here in Melbourne. He’s here before heading out to University of South Dakota. What we learned from the transfer process was that there are coaches out there, even in the NCAA system, that choose a player rather than a commodity to fill a designed role and who will work to players strengths and apply the kind of man management skills I need in managing a business. While there is no place for “vindictive” , if players can’t take a hair dryer or two and long gym sessions during competition without their heads dropping, one has to question the mental capacity to succeed at NCAA level. The relevance to the Olympics and to Duco’s piece? Well, Australia got their noses in front and GB completely disintegrated, so do we blame the GB system, the players or the coaches? Seems all are somehow culpable. 6 points down at the end of Q3 they were humiliated by an arguably less talented team, no structure, no discipline and nothing like the heart and competitive spirit of the Australians. Duco talks about the depth of talent and the numbers other countries have. Well GB has it too, but the reality is that GB Basketball only ever thinks about the next event, Olympics, Euros, Futures, and who is in the line of sight. There’s no inclusion, no communication and I question even awareness of the other players out there. Funding is no excuse, Internet technology is cheap, and if Qualification for Brazil is even a remote possibility, someone needs to be talking to and including the 60 or so athletes born from 1988 or so on who could create some competition.
It is amazing how GB can play so well against a team such as Spain, but then play disgracefully against a poorer team such as Australia.
The team has three players who are capable of playing at this level, Deng, Freeman and MB.
Archibald contributed very little to the team, being slow on both offence and defence and constantly committing fouls. Clark has difficulty playing either the 3 or the 4 spot as he is not yet quick enough for either position, although he can shoot the three pointer when and if he gets open. (Maybe a couple of plays could have been set up for him with this in mind?) We have no point guard, no one who can take control of the offence and dictate the plays.
The team had no fast break offence and just could not advance the ball up court quickly enough, especially when pressured. Once on offence it was difficult to determine if there were in fact any offensive plays rather than just individual plays. There were no set plays for, for example, getting Freeland open under the basket, or plays to get Deng open for a shot or drive.
The squad has been together for many months and played many games, but the defence gave very little sign of this. Very little boxing out, helpside defence, talking and communicating with each other, poor defence of any pick and roll and generally very slow in movement and positioning.
However, the really important question now that the team can not qualify is, as Duco asks, what happens now? Who do we have, and how many, who can take the place of those players who will no longer be playing for GB in the future?
Who do we have who can play the 2,3,4 or 5 spots? We have one player, Devon van oostrum, who will be capable of playing the 1 spot (after all he is “nearly NBA standard”), but who else is there?
How long will it take to develop players of a sufficient standard to compete for GB at this level?