INTERVIEW Zvezdan Mitrović: It's hard if you have to force someone to play for the national team

Four wins, two losses and first place in Group B - that is the balance of the Montenegrin national basketball team in the first phase of the World Basketball Championship qualifications. In competition with Greece, Portugal and Romania, the team led first by Andrej Žakelj, and then in the July "window" by Zvezdan Mitrović, achieved a very good result. By reaching the second round, the possibility of our selection playing pre-qualifications for the next EuroBasket was avoided, and six more matches with strong rivals in the second phase of the World Championship qualifications were secured, despite the numerous problems that the selectors faced.

And the main problem was the absence of national team players. It was expected that after the previous European Championship there would be a generational change, but this process is going very difficult, because young basketball players - first of all, David Mirković, Luka Bogavac and Andrija Grbović who were expected to be the starters - cannot come due to college obligations. Also, in the July "window" coach Mitrović could not count on Dino Radončić, Aleksa Ilić and Zoran Vučeljić due to injuries, and there were no Marko Simonović and Petar Popović, who skipped this action. Bojan Dubljević was on the list for the last matches against Portugal and Romania, but his manager Miško Ražnatović announced a few days earlier that the Nikšić native had ended his career.

In such a situation, Montenegro, led by Zvezdan Mitrović, defeated Portugal away (72:68) and Romania at home (65:64) in the July cycle and achieved a great result, which is a reward for the guys who were there, and whose desire, energy, attitude and commitment were at their maximum.

The recently completed first round of qualifications was the reason for an interview with coach Zvezdan Mitrović. In an interview for "Vijesti", Mitrović reflected on the first phase, the numerous problems he encountered, his obligations in the second round of qualifications, and also spoke about the results with Cedevita-Olimpija, which he has successfully led for two seasons.

"Throughout the entire qualifiers, there was a problem with the arrival of players. It culminated with the last gathering, where we were left without the guys we expected, and I'm talking about the players from the NCAA, who are the future of our basketball. They can hardly come in August, but June was the period when we thought we would be able to gather them, to create an idea and a base for the future. Then came the injuries to Ilić and Vučeljić, Simonović canceled for some reason of his own... The squad was the biggest problem, that's what we were most concerned about. With this squad, we won first place in the group, which the guys who were there deserved with their attitude. They were great both in training and with their behavior. They played as much as they can and I congratulated them on that," Mitrović said at the beginning of the interview for "Vijesti".

PASSING TO THE SECOND ROUND IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PLAN

In the second phase, Montenegro will face Georgia, Ukraine and Spain. The first match is away against Georgia (August 28), and that country is an example of how players treat the national team, whose star Toko Shengelia never misses a single match. Then, on August 31, our team will host Ukraine.

"Georgia always plays with a full squad, they are a serious team, which is evident from the results. Ukraine has been playing with the same squad for a long time, reinforced with Mihaljuk from the NBA. They have shown that they can beat anyone. I don't like alibi stories, but we are total outsiders. In relation to the squad we will be in, we will try to surprise, to beat someone and to give our maximum. For us at this moment, advancing to the second round is the fulfillment of the plan. But, as a coach, I never put any brakes on it, but to try to go beyond the maximum again. That is the idea for the next 'windows'", Mitrović is honest.

The creator of the historic result in 2019, when Montenegro qualified for the first World Cup, emphasizes that he did not expect this situation when he decided to take over our national team again.

"When accepting the call from the national team, the idea was to rejuvenate, to create a team with new leaders, a new backbone, which is challenging from a coaching perspective. And that was my main motive. But what happened to us and what will happen with American colleges, where all our potential goes and they don't allow them to compete and have all kinds of pressure - that's bad. Nikola Vučević, Bojan Dubljević, Vladimir Mihailović, Nikola Ivanović... that generation that brought a lot has finished its representative career. New guys are coming and that's what attracted me. It was hard for me that this happened. It's a problem that caught me by surprise and that I didn't expect."

College players are unlikely to be available in August, including Djordje Jovanovic, who is heading to St. John's University under Rick Pitino. The winger missed the Portugal trip in the last "window" due to visa obligations, but played against Romania.

"I think we will be without Jovanović in August. We are sending invitations to the players, now we will contact them again. I hope that Ilić and Vučeljić will recover. We will also follow the junior competition in the European Championship B Division, maybe we will invite someone from the juniors," revealed Mitrović.

THERE IS A SATURATION MENTALITY AMONG SOME PLAYERS

The main question facing not only our Alliance is - how to prevent all this?

"FIBA previously resolved the issue in such a way that a player who does not respond to the invitation does not have the right to participate in its competitions. I think that now neither FIBA ​​nor anyone can influence the colleges, they are protected. Larger countries and federations have these problems. We have to work on that. It is difficult if we have to force and urge someone to play for the national team, if it is not felt. Among us, some players have a mentality that they get fed up after certain things. But, that is private and intimate, I do not go into that. As a selector, I send a list - whoever came, is welcome. And this other legal thing, it has to be done at a higher level," said Mitrović.

The coach compared this situation to the period when he was on the national team bench in his first term.

"It wasn't easy then, but it's much harder now. When I took over the national team in my first term, this innovation with 'windows' started, which I consider a very bad solution. You play with one team in February, the other in June..."

All younger men's Montenegrin teams are in Division B, and the youth national team has not even registered for the European Division B Championship, which is being held in Slovakia, four years after the historic bronze medal.

"When you see that there is a demand for our players in colleges, then the talent exists. There has always been talent. In my opinion, the important thing is that we have started to have meetings with the coaches of those teams, we give them guidelines on what and how to do it, who to pay attention to. We had one meeting, and the president Dragan Bokan was present - to work more intensively, to build up the coaching organization, to have more gatherings, seminars... To monitor and move forward. That is one of the tasks that I have set for myself," explained Mitrović.

CONTRACT WITH CEDEVITA EXTENDED TO MUTUAL SATISFACTION

Zvezdan Mitrović has been leading Cedevita-Olimpija for two years with great success, with whom he has extended his cooperation until 2028. The Slovenian team has done a serious job in those two seasons, especially in the Eurocup, where they reached the quarterfinals both times, but lost to Bahçeşehir (85:81), and then Brugge (83:79). For comparison, before Mitrović's arrival, the "dragons" had a total of only four victories in the Eurocup in two seasons.

"Everyone's assessment is that we have made a serious step forward. We have achieved success in the Eurocup, not only in terms of results, but also in relation to the budget, which is one of the lowest in that competition. We have created good players, not only young ones, who are making serious careers. Aleksej Nikolić went to Galatasaray, DJ Stewart to Baskonia, Umoja Gibson is signed by Barcelona. That is also a coaching satisfaction for me. We cannot keep these players due to the budget and financial conditions, but it shows that the club has worked seriously, that the results are being monitored. My contract extension shows the satisfaction of the management, the club and the city. And to my satisfaction, the contract was extended," said Mitrović.

This season, the Eurocup is played in a different format, with 32 teams participating, and Cedevita is in Group A with Le Mans, Hapoel Jerusalem, Burgos, Tortona, Aris, Rostock and Riga.

"The Eurocup is much stronger this year. With the arrival of Spanish and Greek teams, it is reaching the level of Euroleague budgets. The league is expanding, it will be much more difficult than it was. We are at the same level - both in terms of budget and everything. Getting out of the group would be a big goal for us. We have changed the team, we are in the process of signing players. In August, during the first part of the preparations, I will be with the national team and all of that has implications for our results and ambitions."

RECOGNITION FROM A COLLEAGUE MEANS A LOT

Wherever he worked, Mitrović left his mark. This is also the case in the ABA League, where he was named the best coach last season.

"Coaches, media and fans participate in the voting and this award means a lot to me. I have won awards in France three times, Ukraine, Montenegro, Euro Cup... The award means a lot to me, first of all because it is recognition from colleagues. It means that we are doing something well, that we are trying," concluded Zvezdan Mitrović.