European Basketball- Whole World of Basketball Out There

Coach Shiltz- State Trophy

It is obvious that if a coach is going to be successful, they really have to study the game. Basketball is an evolving sport. If you stick with what you learned 10 years ago or even 10 months ago, basketball will pass you up quickly. The casual "coach" who coaches weekends with youth basketball or the fan who watches games on TV have no idea of the work high school and college coaches put in as students of the game. Coaches can learn by attending clinics, subscribing to virtual clinics, reading articles, joining coach's groups on Facebook, and watching tons of film.

Justin Shiltz has been successful everywhere he has coached. In the 15-20 years that I have known him professionally, it is amazing how much he has evolved, changed, and grown as a coach. Several summers ago, he came to Galesburg in the summer with his team for our summer league. I had an opportunity to talk basketball with him. I was struck by how invested he was watching and learning from European basketball. Since then I have read more and tried to learn more about European basketball. It is clear that offensively a lot of what is going on now in American basketball has European routes.

When one talks to Justin, it is obvious he has learned a lot from studying European basketball. I asked Justin to give those of who are career coaches as well as the casual fan, a tutorial about how to watch European basketball and what to look for. Thanks- Coach Shiltz!!!

Massey- You have developed a great interest in watching European basketball leagues. What do you find fascinating about their style of play?

Luka Doncic

Shiltz- I started watching FIBA U21, U19, U17 events, Euroleague & the Spanish ACB about 5-6 years ago. I wanted to…

A. Study pro hoops that mirrored more the college/HS game & the NBA doesn’t do that. It's a totally different game with different rules. 

B. I was involved in multiple coaching groups online that shared information & several coaches raved about a handful of European teams who run dynamic offense. The aforementioned conversations piqued my interest in the European game & I have fallen in love with it ever since. 

C. I find the European style of hoops fascinating for several reasons: 1. I like FIBA rules (shorter shot clock, much more physical, without defensive 3 secs coaches have to be creative moving the help & the big man isn’t extinct, he is still a valued piece of a teams roster). Also, the season isn’t as long as an NBA season, games are more meaningful & therefore teams play much harder. European countries like Serbia, Spain, Croatia, etc. live & die for their pro teams. The home games can have a very festive, college-like atmosphere to them. Lastly, the European game is very skilled, however, it lacks the elite athleticism that the modern NBA has. To me, that is a good thing. You will rarely see isolation basketball, & one will see more ball movement, pick-n-roll basketball. Also, the head coach is in charge & not multi-millionaire players, which is refreshing to see at the pro level.  

Sam Dekker

Massey- For those of us tech challenged, exactly how do you watch these games? Can you go back and watch earlier games?  

Shiltz- The Euroleague, the Basketball Champions League & the NBL (Australia) are all on ESPN+ & EuroleagueTV has its own service through their app that you can also watch the EuroCup competition along with coveted Euroleague as well. The BBL (England & Germany), Lega Basket Serie A (Italy) & (my favorite) the Spanish ACB, are all on DirecTV & DirecTV Stream. Most, if not all of these leagues are available on demand through the apps that I mentioned or via DVR with DirecTV. 

Massey- Who are some American players that you like to watch, and what teams do they play for? Who are the European stars that we will eventually be stars in the NBA?

Shiltz- Europe & the world are full of American players carving out nice careers, making an impact & winning trophies. There are too many to count. However, ones that recently have stood out are: 

Sam Dekker, Paris Lee, TJ Shorts II, Bryce Cotton, Matt Thomas, Nick Weiler-Babb, Isaiah Canaan, Chasson Randle, Kendrick Nunn, Alec Peters, Nigel Williams-Goss, Thomas Walkup, Kyle Guy, Kyle Hines, Jabari Parker, John Shurna, Jahlil Okafor, Nigel Hayes & Ethan Happ. 

Ethan Happ

As far as the next wave of Euros who are projected to make an impact on NBA rosters, you know as well as I do, that’s never a sure fire thing. The only two guys that I personally felt were gonna be stars immediately coming from Europe were Luka Doncic & Victor Wembanyama. Luka was so good, so young playing in Madrid against grown men, it was easy to see he was going to be incredible. Wemby is such a freak of nature, if his health holds up, he will be a perennial all -star as well. Guys that I like around the world & would assume will eventually be in the NBA soon are: Alex Sarr, Frenchman who was a star in the Australian NBL with Perth the past two years. Another Frenchman who is a rising star & most likely drafted this summer is Zaccharie Risacher from JL Bourg (France). Last one, Nikola Topic from Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) would probably be a lottery pick if he chose to come out, however, suffered a knee injury earlier in the Euroleague season. That may change things for him. All three of these guys are 18-19 years old & have bright futures ahead of them. 

Massey- Are there 3-4 teams you would recommend that we start out with and watch some of their games? 

Chasson Randle

Shiltz-

Paris (France) (Euro Cup this year, Euroleague next year) 

Tenerife (Spain) (Basketball Champions League) 

Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) (Euroleague) 

Real Madrid (Spain) (Euroleague) 

Olympiacos (Greece) (Euroleague) 

Massey- Switching complete gears- since you are a basketball junky. In terms of offensive actions or defensive schemes, what NBA teams would you recommend watching. And what should we be looking for when we watch them play?

Quin Snyder

Shiltz- The NBA is the one league I haven’t watched much lately. Not enough time! LOL… However, coaches that I feel are the most creative at that level & think outside the box are: Quin Snyder (Hawks), Will Hardy (Jazz) & Steve Kerr (GSW)/Mike Brown (Kings). These teams run some really nice stuff on offense. 

Massey- Finally, looking forward to next season- what college coach in men’s or women’s do you see as having the most European influence?

Shiltz- The article I attached below is from 11 years ago & talks about how Europeans have impacted & thus changed our game here in America forever. As I watch games now on both continents, you see a lot of the same actions. Our game has become global, homogenized to a degree. Who has really influenced who? I think back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Europe had pro leagues prior to ‘92, however, after the Dream Team did its thing that summer, Europe fell in love with basketball & would never be the same. It took a generation or two to see it but we finally are now enjoying truly elite European players in America, the blending of Euro & US styles/offensive actions & elite coaching all over the world. With the modernization & globalization of basketball, I don’t see a pronounced European style or an American style as much as maybe there would have been 10-15 years ago. It’s really a fun time to be a fan of our beloved game! 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1764154-how-europe-changed-the-nba-game-forever

And here is a PDF that Justin included with Euro plays- plenty to dig into…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x3ePN0WB9EJNkEmRwA2rE10DcPiUFPrv/view