Outgoing Slovenia head coach Igor Kokoskov believes that American coaches are way ahead of the ones in Europe because they are better organised.
The Utah Jazz assistant coach guided Slovenia to the Eurobasket title over the summer bit has had to leave his post due to the new FIBA window, which prevents him from coaching the national side when play resumes in late November.
In a long interview with Sportifico.com”, Kokoskov, the assistant coach of the Utah was more than honest when asked about the difference in the level of coaches between the United States and Europe.
“The American system is very big, it starts from high school, through college to the NBA,” Kokoskov said in that interview.
“I won’t say that all the coaches are good, but the selection is such that there are many highly educated coaches with college degrees, who are eloquent and serious about their jobs.
“European coaches have a good feel of the game, they know how to play their cards, and they have always had a good idea of the craft, but the US is way ahead of us because of how studious and organised they are.”
The most notable coach to move from the EuroLeague to the NBA was David Blatt. He helped Maccabi win the continental title in 2014 where he then joined the Cleveland Cavaliers where he guided them to the NBA Finals in 2015.
Despite the good overall record with the Cavs, Blatt left amid rumours of a fallout with his team. He returned to the EuroLeague with Darussafaka Istanbul, who now play in the EuroCup.
Slovenia have replaced Kokoskov with Rado Trifunović, who will lead the European champions into the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
