Intriguing move to Montenegro for Iniguez

NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - Roberto Iniguez moving into the national team environment as the new head coach of Montenegro for the FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Final Round came completely out of leftfield.

Or to me at least.

Primarily, I was surprised because I had not realized that there was even a vacancy after Momir Milatovic had successfully guided Montenegro to another major tournament appearance. And, he had done so in that tough group along with Italy who also punched their ticket, and Great Britain who missed out for the first time since 2009.

Secondly, I was surprised because Montenegro are still relative minnows when it comes to the depth of the resources at their disposal. That is something which parallels their geographical size and number of registered players – factors dwarfed by just about every other country heading to Prague and Hradec Kralove.

But, putting those initial feelings aside and getting down to the nuts and bolts of what Iniguez could bring, he is arguably the best fit available. Or at least if you subscribe to the theory that having not previously coached a national team at the senior level, won't be an issue.

I am a well-documented fan of Iniguez. I described him last year as an expert navigator of the prestigious EuroLeague Women and it is a moniker which has grown even stronger since I stated it.

However, this will perhaps be his biggest challenge yet as he looks to translate his success at club level to a Montenegro side which has a number of shortcomings - as well as positives of course. Continuing the tradition of Montenegro punching way above their weight ever since debuting brilliantly at Final Round during 2011 in Poland, won't be easy.

When Iniguez sits down at his desk in Podgorica, his 'in-tray' will consist of choosing his naturalized player, working out how he can rotate an ageing core of players whose durability will be pushed to the limit in an intense tournament format - plus a chronic lack of depth in comparison to many other national teams.

He has history with both of Montenegro's naturalized options. I am guessing the decision may have already been made, but just in case, frontcourt star Angelica Robinson rode with Iniguez to the EuroLeague Women Final in Istanbul when she was at Nadezhda. She left last season to switch to Yakin Dogu Universitesi in Turkey - whereas Iniguez remained in Orenburg. She also brings experience of the previous Final Round.

The play-caller also coached another option in Eshaya Murphy when he came into EuroLeague Women in 2012 and took Ros Casares to the title at the first ever Final Eight. She is also playing in Turkish basketball at Samsun.

Montenegro have relied on the evergreen Jelena Skerovic to orchestrate proceedings during their period of success and she will be 36-years-old when the action tips-off in Czech Republic. The guard is one of the great European performers by the way and assuming she remains on board, she will be the key.

As will Jelena Dubljevic. The 2016 WNBA Champion has had her injury issues and not always been able to suit up for Montenegro, but if she does and is fully focused, then it transforms their prospects. 

Outside of the main rotation, there has not been anything of significant note to get excited about and that aforementioned lack of depth off the bench has not gone away. In fact as the main players have gotten older, it has become even more of an issue. Montenegro are going to have to unearth and develop some of their young players and give them the confidence to back up the seniors from this point onwards.

If those are the problems, then the main solution is likely to be having a style which is squarely based on controlling the tempo to a near walking pace and placing the majority of eggs in the basket marked 'defense'. In fact, even before Iniguez was appointed, I had spoken to a colleague about how Montenegro can surely only win at Final Round if it is ugly, defensively dominated and low scoring.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.

But with Iniguez in charge who is famed for instilling defensive discipline, having an astonishing amount of detailed preparation and being able to break new ground, Montenegro have completed a real coup by getting him on board.

And, with the draw perhaps being kinder to Montenegro than most in handing them Belgium and Latvia [albeit favorites Russia are in there as well] which are two games they will be hopeful of winning, I can't wait to see how it all unfolds for Iniguez as he embarks on this intriguing new challenge.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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