Random thoughts on coaches at 2015 FIBA Americas Championship

SAN JUAN (William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas) - The Dominican Republic unveiled Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson as head coach of the national team this week. It makes sense. The country is going all in for Al Horford to be there and make them a real contender for one of the two Olympic spots up for grabs in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship (25 August-6 September).

I've said it before: Horford, along with Gustavo Ayon for Mexico, are the big game-changers for the continental championship. With them on the rosters, their teams become favorites, without them, they run the risk of falling out of the cycle (eliminated even from the World Olympic Qualifier) until the new competition system tips off in 2017.

So Atkinson is the right move for Dominicana and I would not be surprised if we later find out that Horford himself recommended him for the position.

More importantly, his hiring completes the picture of the coaches for the participating national teams in Monterrey and looking at all the names has brought me to think up some random thoughts and questions (without answers, suggestions or ideas, to be honest) about the head-coaching field for the most important international basketball tournaments in the Americas.

1. The coach as a recruitment tool
This is an interesting aspect of the current state of international basketball, where players playing or not playing is the leading topic of conversation in the months before any big tournament. The coach as a recruitment tool has become integral to the hiring and selection process of a national federation. And while I understand it, I don’t know how I feel about it.

I like a national federation and a national team program that knows how and where they want to go, before they know who they want to go with.

For example, I had a coach tell me that the process of hiring Rick Pitino for Puerto Rico was indicative of the federation's lack of identity and direction. He pointed to the candidates and interviewees - Silvio Santander of Argentina, Jose Neto of Brazil, Sergio Valdeolmillos of Spain and Pitino - and said: "Those four cannot be more different. The fact that you are going after them, tells me you have no clue of what you actually want for your team. They just went fishing for a big name and got lucky that this name was big enough to erase all doubt". I agree. I'd prefer a national team program tell me they want to go with a strict defensive-first disciplinarian (just to give an example) and get all candidates that fit that criteria. It makes me trust their direction and sense of self.

This trend is something that hopefully goes away in 2017 with the new competition system. A national team will be kind of forced to make long-time commitments or at least long-time commitments to a particular style of play that lasts the cycle. Getting a player won't be as essential with the new four-windows-in-a-year as having a consistent game philosophy for which you can interchange parts and still win. So that's good. But it is an interesting scenario that currently a national federation can base the hiring of a coach on a "can he get X player to commit to our team?" approach, without even thinking about the style of play the coach brings and if their personnel can actually execute it successfully.

2. The era of the outside hire
This is one fact that immediately pops up when analyzing the head coaching pool for Monterrey. Out of the 10 coaches, only three were born in the countries of the national teams they coach. Sergio Hernandez of Argentina, Jay Triano of Canada and Daniel Scott of Cuba will be at the helm of their country's national team. I don't really have anything to add other than sharing the stat, but I'll only say that I don't know how excited I would be as a national coach, putting the work in through mini basket, youth and eventually professional league to not even be considered for the position. How much of a deterrent it is for future coaches to see the lack of opportunities there are for them at the national team level in their own country?

3. Argentina is still king
I don't think enough is said on our continent about the collateral effect that the Golden Generation has had and how the clear basketball philosophy of Argentina has helped in the head coaching exports of national talent. This year we'll have four of the 10 national team coaches coming from Argentina - Hernandez, Ruben Magnano for Brazil, Nestor "Che" Garcia for Venezuela and Adrian Capelli for Uruguay. Their track records and preparations are undeniable, plus they have proven they can win and instill the 'right-way-to-play' mentality in other countries' national teams. Will this keep up now that we move to a post-Golden Generation generation?

4. Quick turnover; how important will experience be?
None of the head coaches of the four top teams from the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship are back for this year's edition of the continental event. Two of them - Julio Lamas and Orlando Antigua - resigned and two were fired - Valdeolmillos and Paco Olmos. The fifth- (Venezuela) and sixth-placed (Canada) teams still have their coaches from 2013. Will they move up to the podium this time based on the fact that they are now experienced and more ingrained in the basketball culture of their national team? It remains to be seen. Only Magnano, Garcia and Triano are back from Caracas to the continental stage in 2015.

5. Is the Spanish trend over?
Two years ago, the top head coaching story of the tournament was about how the gold and silver medal teams were led by two head coaches from Spain. Some pointed to it signaling a trend, a new way to go for the Americas' teams at the international level. But after Spain's fall from grace at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup on home soil, has the country's export ability lost its luster?

6. Puerto Rico beware of Puerto Ricans: One of the stories that are sure to pop up sometime during the championship is the that of Mexico head coach Eddie Casiano and Panama head coach David Rosario going against the national team they first wanted to coach. Both of them are from Puerto Rico and expressed interest in coaching the national team, but weren't seriously considered. And you know they are salivating at the chance to prove the national federation wrong. For Rosario it would be more difficult, but Casiano's chances of going against Puerto Rico in a key (maybe elimination) game are very realistic. It would make for some interesting bench dynamics in Monterrey.

And finally…

7. No Brazilians, Dominicans, Mexicans, Panamanians, Uruguayans, Venezuelans?
I don't know. These are countries that have looked good at the international club level - or great when you talk about Brazil - but have not been able to translate that national coach success to promotions to the national team. Is this a reflection of a national federation-national league disconnect? Or is it that they are not very good and represent an overall lower quality of coaching at the national league level? If the latter is the case, elevating that quality is the responsibility of the national federation too. The circle of life. Just saying.

I have no real ending for this column other than to say I like thinking, talking and analyzing coaches' decisions. With the new and recognizable faces that will be in command in Monterrey, isn't it going to be fun?

William Rosario

FIBA

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