Sarunas Jasikevicius‘s career as a coach is relatively short. He debuted as the first coach at Zalgiris Kaunas in 2016, but In these almost six years he has earned a place among the most valued coaches in Europe. In the Lithuanian team he won all the leagues he played, three cups and put Zalgiris in the Final Four of the 2019 Euroleague. Merits that earned him the job at Barça, where in his first year he won the national double and He stayed at the gates of the third Euroleague in the history of the club.
This season, despite numerous serious injuries, especially those to Higgins and Calathes, he has kept the team in second place both in the Endesa League and in the top continental competition. Jasikevicius went through the DAZN program The Coaching Experience, where they asked him directly if he saw himself training in the NBA in the future. The Lithuanian coach was not disgusted by the idea: “Why not? I always say that no matter where you work, the first thing is that you have to do it the right way. The key is to go with the same philosophy”.
He also talked about Nikola Mirotic, the most important player in the Barça squad, as well as explain his philosophy when taking advantage of his players: “It is a mutual commitment. The players have to adapt to my philosophy, but then I cannot ask them for things that are not in their abilities. or that they are not used to doing. I like my players more than the new idea of basketball. If you have Mirotic or Brandon Davies, you should use them where they feel most comfortable. I have great players in the low post. Let’s find them there! Mirotic eHe’s good from the 3-point line, but he can also be a weapon in the paint. We are looking for you in different situations, so that you can choose your direction. This is a plus for a coach”.
About his particular way of living the matches, with an intensity that sometimes leads him to leave controversial statements about his players, Saras wanted to give his point of view: “You have to create some habits, which is the most important thing. This is what we are trying to do here, especially from day one, creating good habits. When we enter the court, we have to spend an hour and a half as soldiers.”. A way of seeing and understanding basketball that, according to him, has inherited from Zeljko Obradovic, with whom he is often compared. “I learned a lot from him. CHow to manage a locker room, in addition to its ability to change over the years. He knows how to manage each of his rosters. Now he has to deal with younger players. He adapts well to any new situation.”.
