“Signed the players I had in mind”. Tomorrow no meeting, we start in Gressoney – Varesenoi.it

The first Varese summer of Michael Archersback in town and ready to regain control of executive operations alongside Luis Scola.

Always smiling, his expression shows his satisfaction for the roster built in recent months and for the market objectives achieved.

«When at the end of the day you signed the players you had in mind, it’s a great thing. We have been studying Ross and Owens since January, when I arrived here, we also followed Tariq during his rehabilitation. Markel Brown and Jaron Johnson are great talents. And then we are happy that we have brought back all the Italians, which was a very important goal: continuity is very important for the team and the club. We can’t wait to get started, we’re ready».

A team that, however, to see in action we will have to wait a little longer: no training or meeting with the fans is foreseen, neither for tomorrow nor before the departure for Gressoney on 23 August. Ross, Owens, and Brown will arrive in town in the morning, and have their doctors checked on the weekend. Johnson will arrive at the weekend, while Reyes grapples with the commitments of the Puerto Rican national team. Plausible that the first “public” outing of the red and white will be set on their return from the mountain retreat.

For the composition of the roster, Arcieri let it be known that a precise philosophy was followed. Not only small ballbut athleticism and long arms were requirements on which we focused, because even if you want to run as much as possible, “everything will start from the defense».

«I don’t think there are inches and kilos missing. Owens doesn’t have much weight but with him we can play on the iron. All players have a large wingspan (opening of arms, ed), we want to be as athletic as possible. We have players who can play different roles, change on all blocks. This will be our philosophy».

But some regret remains for Siim-Sander Vene’s non-return: with the Estonian the Varese management had been negotiating the renewal from May, initially with cautious optimism, but without then finding an agreement: “We talked a lot with your agent. It is the worst part of this job, when players who are part of the family leave».

Family that welcomed yesterday the new coach: Matt Brasewhose name emerged among many at the conclusion of a casting that involved several profiles and which started from afar.

«We began a very extensive research in May, we spoke with Italian, European and NBA coaches, in our ideas we wanted to play in a more “American” way. Brase certainly has a very long experience, both at university and NBA level, he also contributed to the development of a player like James Harden, he has a very impressive curriculum, as well as a very open character, always laughs, establishes relationships with players».

The one who will be his right arm, Paolo Galbiatiwas another name vying to be head coach, but his role as assistant sounds like anything but a relegation in the words of the general manager: “For us it was incredible to be able to take one at his level, it will certainly help Matt, but also all of us, especially the young people who need to grow more. Having him with us is very important».

And speaking of young people, he is already in town too Herman Mandolethe Argentine who will hold the role of player development coachfundamental position for the development of young talents in the thoughts of Luis Scola.

Archers then dribbles the question related to goals of the seasonbut one thing is clear: Varese Basketball wants to play in Europe in the 2023/2024 season.

«The goal is to win every time we go out on the pitch, but I don’t want to talk about specific things. We definitely want to enter the playoffs and play in Europe next year. It was a bit of a disappointment not to be admitted to the FIBA ​​Champions League, but let’s see the glass half full: we don’t play on Wednesday night and we can focus on Sunday».

Therefore, the daily work in the gym will count a lot, a real development tool for the players, who will have to earn space for official matches, given that “none were taken with promises of roles and minutes».

«We wanted to create a competitive environment: every training session will be Caruso against Owens, Librizzi against Brown or Ross against De Nicolao. If you can have something like this it’s very nice, the spot on the pitch is earned in training, it’s nice that every time it will be a little war».