Fragiskos Alvertis, the new head coach of Panathinaikos b.c.
Saturday march 8th, Panathiakos fired head coach Argiris Pedoulakis and appointed till the end of his season Fragiskos Alvertis as his replacement.
Regarded of one of the purest shooters in European basketball history, Alvertis is the only player in the history of Panathinaikos to win as many titles as he did. 11 Greek championships, 5 Euroleague championships, 8 Greek cups and 1 Intercontinental Cup. Legendary head coach Zeljko Obradovic stated that Alvertis was the best captain he ever had. He retired as player of Panathinaikos at the end of the 2009 season and joined the staff of the team after that season.
What can be expected of Alvertis as the new head coach. The team is on top of the standings of the Greek league and now ironically tied in the 4th place of the top 16 with Olympiakos and Fenerbace, the team with head coach Obradovic. So their task is to beat their arch rival and their longtime head coach to advance to the last 8 in the Euroleague.
Having a solid mix of young players like Bramos, Pappas and Giankovic and proven winners like Diamantidis, Batist, Fotsis and Ukic, things can only be better. Alvertis is at least well respected by the players. His commitment, his dedication and his proven winner mentality is something that will make the players buy into his concept. His task is not easy, but former head coach Pedoulakis laid good fundament of defense. That is in this period of time the trade mark of Panathinaikos basketball.
On offense he has to bring more than the pure pick n roll the team now rely on most of the time. Opponents don't seem to have big problems to stop this, so the team has to have more options. Making opponents guess what is coming at them, is a good way to stay one step ahead each time. They shot a lot of three point shots under Pedoulakis, but they have to create more situations that they have a layup or that they are getting fouled. That will bring more flexibility to the offense and can bring them success.
Having long time teammate Diamantidis as the star player on the team, will help him a lot. Alvertis and Diamantidis have a lot of respect for one and other, so the transition the team has to make can be smooth. If Alvertis can bring some of the things he learned from Obradovic, he can create the mentality to put the team back on track. The fundament is solid, they just have to turn the corner.
Hans Kuijf, Dutch Panathinaikos Basketball fan.
