Eric Musselman flew from San Francisco to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Musselman has good relationships with the team management and had been invited for a clinic.
Eric P. Musselman was born November 19, 1964 in Ashland, Ohio -according to the Wikipedia- and is the former head coach of the NBA's Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. He has served as assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic (under Chuck Daly and Doc Rivers), Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies as well.
Now he has had the chance to enjoy this experience, learning about the international game and writing down every single impression of the journey. Solobasket.com wants to thank Musselman for sharing his notes with us, and now with all of you:
Wednesday, September 23
12:00pm
My wife and I are on our way to SFO, it's 90 degrees in Northern California. It's expected to be 45-55 degrees in St. Petersburg with plenty of rain. This will be my fifth international clinic (after Barcelona, Spain; Athens, Greece; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Beijing, China). The travel can sometimes be tough, but I love exchanging new ideas with coaches from all over the world.
3:10pm
Just taking off. The trip is 15 hours, and includes a stop in Amsterdam. Time difference at destination: +11 hours.
Thursday, September 24th
5:30pm
Just landed in St. Petersburg. Alex Karvanen, the Sports Director of Spartak, and Stas Ryzov, the manager of the team's International Department pick me up at the airport. It takes about 20 minutes to check-in to our hotel, the Courtyard Marriot... Guess they're everywhere. Weather was perfect for Russia at this time of year - mid 50s and sunny.
Friday, September 25th
4:00am
Time change and long flight hit as we woke up at 4:15 am and couldn't go back to sleep. We hit the gym for a workout at 4:45am.
9:00am
3:00pm
Lots of buzz here surrounding Mikhail Prokhorov's purchase of the New Jersey Nets and how this could impact Russian basketball for years to come.
I'm attending the introduction of Spartak, something I'd compare to an American media day. The entire Spartak team is here (minus Sharron Ford from Clemson, who's on his way from Italy after being delayed with passport issues). Point guard Levance Fields tells me about his experience so far, he's got a great attitude and enjoys being in St Petersburg. The change of scenery can't be easy for the Brooklyn, New York native, who played at Pittsburgh last year and with the Orlando Magic summer league this past season. Following the presentation, I'm introduced to Alexander Krasnenkov, the team owner/president and vice president Vadim Proskurnin. We grab a bite to eat at the famous Hotel Astoria, and then take a tour of their new offices. Very impressive, they remind me of a smaller version of an NBA front office.
What a small world - Found out today that AC Green and coach Mike Fratello also in Russia doing a clinic in another part of Russia this week.
Weather was a bit colder, but sunny.. We are There are only 30 plus sunny days a year in Saint Petersburg and so far we are 2 for 2.
Saturday, September 26th
12:00pm
We tour the Spartak practice facilities which has two full courts.
2:00pm
The coaching clinic begins at 2pm, the same time as a big soccer match between Russian rivals Zenit (St Petersburg) and CSKA (Moscow). Zenit won the game 2-0. Spartak's home arena (Jubieleyny) is right across the street from the soccer stadium and they share a parking lot. Visiting CSKA is staying at our hotel.
The topics of the clinic were pick and roll and player development specific to position. The players used for the clinic where Spartak second division players. They weren't used to the drills that I put them through, but they'd caught on fast.
4:00pm
"Kondrashin - Belov tournament" begins
The first game of the tournament was a 1 point game. Siena Montepaschi (Italy) 78 vs Unics (Kazan, Russia) 77. Was a great game, close throughout. Late 4th quarter bonus free throws were deciding factor. Henry Domercant (Playing with a Bosnian passport) came up big in the last 4 minutes offensively for Siena. Was surprised this game was so close as the Siena roster is much more talented. They were playing without off guard David Hawkins.
Top players for Siena are 32 year old point guard Terrell McIntyre (his rights were almost traded earlier to Greek club Olympiacos), 3/2 man Romain Sato, who did most of his damage posting up and defended 1 thru 4, and big man Benjamin Eze, who has a great body and plays physical with limited range.
Other players of note: 30 year old Big man Lavrinovic, he really shot the ball well from 3 point area, and had 17 points in the first half. He plays on the Lithuanian National team. Offensively he could play in the NBA as a 9th or 10th man, but because he is a defensive liability, he is not a NBA player.
Combo guard Nikos Zisis who plays for Greek National team.
4/5 man captain Stonerook.
For Kazan Uniks the top player was combo guard T. Layday who is in his second year with Unics and his 4th year playing in Russia. Layday has done more than his share of traveling; he played at Fresno City College and BYU. Professionally, he's played in Poland (01-02), Turkey (02-03), France (03-04), Italy (06-07), and Russia. He led the 2005-2006 Russian league in steals (2.4 per game).
Both teams played some zone defense in the first half. Ball movement vs zone much better here than in the NBA. They're playing without two of their best players, both of which played on the Croatian National team.
6:00pm
Time for the second game. The Angola National team lost by 11 points vs the host Saint Petersburg Spartak team. Angola, who didn't arrive in Saint Petersburg until after 1am the day of the game played a solid second half, but first half lack of half court execution got them in to big of a hole.
Angola really struggled to run half court offense vs Spartak pressure defense in the first half. In the 3rd quarter they cut the 18 point first half lead to 11 points. You have to really give Angola credit from a competitive standpoint, they did not quit.
Spartak offense was disciplined and they really look to run half court sets. Even after offensive rebounds they will look to kick the ball out and run their offense.
Sharron Ford did not play as he has not been practicing with the team the last week awaiting his passport while in Italy.
What is really interesting is the refs have no conversation with players during the game. A simple question to a ref could lead to a technical foul.
I have never seen so many moving screens in one game. The technique of the roll man is often to just plow over the defender, and inside players are really allowed to pin defenders with arms.
Both games were very entertaining and an excellent brand of basketball both from a talent standpoint and coaching. Overall, the ball movement and passing was excellent.
Sunday, September 27th
Warmest weather day yet. Overcast but weather was perfect temperature.
3:00pm
Consolation game: 3rd place Kazan Unics 88 - Angola 49.
This was a tough game to watch, as Angola was totally outplayed.
Angola struggled to score vs Unics zone defense. The zone was compact and kept Angola from getting points in the paint. Defensively, they were picked apart in both their man to man defense, and in the second half, their zone gave up a ton of open 3 point looks.
Talented guard T. Laidei was limited with a sprained ankle. #8 Artem Kyzyakin had a terrific game for Kazan. Angola's best player in the tournament was their captain, point guard Milton Barros. If I were to make a comparison based on these two games, Angola has some talented players but would have trouble with a mid major NCAA team like West Coast Conference St Marys.
5:30pm
Championship game: Siena 95 - Spartak 75
Can't imagine many teams in Europe better than Siena at this point of the year.
My MVP for the Tournament was Siena Henry Domercant
For Siena - Stonerook does a great job as a 4 man of having the ball swing on ball reversals. He is not a numbers guy but really gets extra possessions off loose balls and boards. Sato a tough player to defend off weakside slice, cuts into the post.
Siena has a ton of depth and a strong rotation off the bench. Turning point in game was in the first half when Spartak went to the bench and both L. Fields and Milovan Rakovic rested for about 3 - 4 minutes. At the same time for Siena, Henry Domercant came in and put up 16 quick points in the first 11 minutes off the bench - it was a 8 point swing and the game completely changed.
Domercant hit most of his points coming off screens off catch and shoot. Siena big men did a good job as screen setters. Really impressed with how well Siena players play as a team and understand there roles. You can tell much of the roster has been playing together for years.
For Spartak, 35 year old off guard Zakhar Pashutin has a great understanding of how to play the game. He holds the all time single game scoring record in Russian league with 55 points. He is the type of player young players should study.
Lavance Fields shines when it comes to off ball defensive anticipation, his 4 steals and M. Rakovic's 13 points in first half kept Spartak within 13 points (34 - 47)
Aside from the game, The Spartak organization did a good job entertaining the crowd with their "game production" - intros, dance team, all very similar to a NBA game. Spartak Owner Alexander does a great job in his VIP room. Great food and hospitality.
Monday, September 28th
5:30 am
Ran into Sharron Ford in the hotel lobby as he was grabbing a quick breakfast. He had just come from his room upstairs watching live NFL games on his computer thanks to the Slingbox that he has hooked up to his cable television back in the States.
8:40am
Long flight home, hopefully the jet lag won't be as bad as the outbound trip.
1:20pm
Just landed at SFO minus one suitcase that the airline says has been delayed. Look forward to heading to Atlanta to watch a few days of the Hawks camp. Atlanta has improved their win total in four consecutive seasons under coach Mike Woodson. The Hawks ended the season with eight free agents and re-signed Mike Bibby and Zaza Pucuhlia, added combo guard Jamal Crawford and drafted Jeff Teague.
1 - Hello How are you?. I'm from the Dominican republic, I am extremely proud that my country Santo Domingo East basket2010 counting on this center with a leader as successful as it is: Eric Musselman, is a great leader and his record in this tournament so demonstrated basket center as the Dominican team in these moments are immaculate record of 4-0. Muselman Thanks for giving us joy to us fans of our basketball team Dominican Republic.
07/11/2010 - 23:48 - Quiskeyano
