Ainars BAGATSKIS: “Young players should have a chance in the national team”

Coach of the Ukraine men’s basketball team Ainars Bagatskiler He made a traditional comment on the formation of the team for the upcoming 2023 World Cup qualifiers. On 11 November, the Ukrainian team will play away against the Netherlands, and on 13 November they will host Iceland in Riga.

– What is the plan to prepare the national team for the matches?

– We are leaving for Riga on the morning of November 7th. I want to see how the players are doing in terms of health. Maybe there will be an extra day off on the first day, we’ll see, or we’ll have one practice each on November 8, 9 and 10, maybe two workouts a day on one of these days. On the 10th we fly to the Netherlands, where we will do morning training, a few video sessions, then the game itself, after which we will return to Riga. Before Iceland we will have another big practice and then a match.

– Why are there no Bliznyuk, Pustovoy and Skapintsev in the app?

– Bogdan and Artem asked not to call them for personal reasons. I understand that a player cannot play his best basketball if he is not mentally prepared. You can only show your best play if you are in a good emotional state and have the desire to play. If some personal reasons are interfering, it is better to let the player rest. Never had a problem wanting to play for the national team with these guys.

As for Dmitry Skapintsev, he has a real chance to be in the G-League team and be in the eyes of the NBA teams, and as a coach, I sympathize with that. Here I want to repeat my words that the national team helps its players to show their strongest qualities. Everyone always wants more minutes, but in the national team every minute is at stake and you can move to a new level. Skapintsev’s case confirms this.

– Comment on the return to Slava Kravtsov and the first challenge to Alexander Kovlyar’s official matches.

– I always thought that there should be a chance for young players with potential in the national team. They must be involved in the educational process. Kovlyar was with us in the summer, but we decided not to touch him from the youth team. If I had the opportunity to try Shulga in the national team, of course, I would love to. Unfortunately, there is no way to search for a player from the NCAA team during the season. We follow all young players. At the same time, I do not think that the players in the national team should change often, there should be a backbone in the team. In this regard, I am pleased with the return of Alexander Lipovoy.

As for Slava Kravtsov, this is an example of a professional and Ukrainian patriot. Despite his star status, he never dismissed the national team and said that he can be trusted, given the leagues Slava plays in. I can imagine what kind of resentment he felt because he did not participate in some matches and did not enter the European Championship squad. But he never rejected the team. This is an example of how not only a professional but also a top gamer can get along with his ego. In team sports, it is often seen that experienced players put their egos above team interests. Slava Kravtsov is an example. I talked to him, he plays a lot in a youth team and now I want Kovlyar to take him a little.

As a coach, I want players to make the right decisions on the court, but if a basketball player who takes 20 minutes makes a shot, it would be naive to hope that he will score more for the national team. I don’t know what situation he is in now and what Ivan Tkachenko will show. Budivelnyk has a few games overall and the Ukrainians don’t get big minutes there. I don’t know what they will show. This goes for Prometheus players as well, but Sidorov and Sanon play a little more there. Although this is the biggest problem for me, it should not be such a problem. I believe that if a basketball player of the national team plays in the Ukrainian club, he should get at least 20 minutes in the club. Otherwise, it will be an additional problem for me as a coach.

– We played with Iceland, we will meet with the Netherlands for the first time. What to expect from these teams?

– These are unpleasant opponents playing disciplined basketball. They play aggressively and will shoot at every opportunity. They have very strong shooters. In Iceland we closed the scorers in the first half, but in the second half they punished us for everything. The assistants already gave me information about these teams, showed me what these teams did especially in defense. Basketball is a very easy and straightforward game, you have to show your strengths and hide your weaknesses. We’ll work on that in practice.