STEUTEL SHRUGS OFF JOB CALLS

Could Marc Steutel be handed the Great Britain job on a permanent basis?

Quite a leap for the man whose current day job within basketball is with Teesside Lions, whose season was wiped out due to Covid.

But the Liverpudlian has won plaudits, and rightfully so, for taking on the potentially awkward and precarious head coaching job as cover for the absent Nate Reinking.

The 2012 Olympian, confined to the USA due to the precedence of his role with the NBA G-League’s Canton Charge, can offer no guarantees that he will be available to man the sideline in person any time soon.

And with Steutel’s astute calls securing qualification for EuroBasket 2022 with Saturday’s dramatic defeat of Germany – and then presiding over a famous and fabulous victory over France – does he believe the job should formally be his?

“I’m not even thinking about that,” he told MVP.

“I’m privileged to be in this position.

“I’ve coached six games. I’ve leaned on the guys. There’s been collective responsibility. Players, coaches, our performance staff, everybody puts in an incredible effort. I just want us to enjoy beating the sixth-ranked team in the world.

“That’s the focus for me right now.”

To conclude the group with a 4-2 record, missing out on top spot by a mere three points, was as much as anyone could have hoped for at the outset.

GB’s world ranking will get a modest lift. Helpful for the future, with the initial phases of World Cup qualifiers pencilled in for the autumn.

The accomplishments of this campaign presented unique challenges. All deftly overcome.

“We’ve had one basketball game in the UK,” Steutel added. “The FIBA windows are meant to give people opportunity to be at home.

“The pandemic is what it is. But we had one game in Newcastle. We had one game at home and the rest abroad.

“When you’re around the guys for the full week in the bubble situation, it’s just a privilege to see how locked they’ve been. Their approach. How much it means to these guys to play with that Great Britain name across our chest.

“Regardless of where we’ve been, it’s been a privilege.”

Surely though Steutel deserves a shot at a head coach job in the BBL soon. Un-hired soon after his appointment at Plymouth Raiders in the past, results merit some just reward.