Four Lions: New Head Coaches In The League

The offseason is a time of transition, both for players and coaches. Often, a new head coach means a major shift in team direction and ideology. Valery Gitarkin provides insight on the VTB United League's new men in charge and what might await them in the upcoming season: Astana's plan, Katsikaris's opportunity at Loko, Saratov's experiment and a succession of power in Nizhny Novgorod.

Nikolajs Mazurs, Avtodor

Age: 35
Country: Latvia
Former Clubs: VEF (Latvia), Vita (Georgia)
National Teams: Latvia U16 (2011), Latvia U18 (2013), Latvia U20 (2014)

Rescuer, miner, lion trainer, skyscraper window washer, bus driver in Guatemala, crocodile fighter, lumberjack...there are a lot of dangerous professions in the world that require significant risk.

And if we were to rank the VTB United League's most dangerous coaching jobs, Saratov would be at the top of the list.

Avtodor has been one of the League's most exciting teams in recent years, but requires serious internal pressure and very high expectations to maintain its success. For one, Saratov does not give its coaches a long leash. Last year alone, the Black-Whites went through two firings and played for three different coaches. President Vladimir Rodionov is also known to take over when things start to heat up, including in 2015.
Nikolajs Mazurs will take a shot on the "hot seat" for the 2016-17. The 35-year-old Latvian has spent most of his career at VEF, where he gained experience under Valdys Valters, Rimas Kurtinaitis and Ramunas Butautas, before taking over the reins from the Baltic gurus. In 2011, 2013 and 2014, Mazurs headed up Latvia's cadet, junior and youth teams. During the 2014-15 season, Riga beat Avtodor twice, despite failing to make the postseason. Another big moment in the young coach's biography would be leading Vita to its only win of the season in 2015-16.

Avtodor is not going to be inspired by the 2005 NBA Finals between San Antonio and Detroit and spend 40 minutes on defense. Despite major turnover on the roster, Saratov will continue to play at supersonic speed, and thrive on a fearless, take-no-prisoners mentality. Mazurs will take on the challenge of crafting a team that plays attacking basketball and wins games, while remaining on the same page with management. Nikolajs, despite his age, is known for his demanding, tough personality--qualities that Saratov's godfather values. Perhaps Mazurs can be the lucky one to meet every requirement and stick it out in the VTB United League's most dangerous position.

Fotios Katsikaris, Lokomotiv-Kuban

Age: 49
Country: Greece
Former Clubs: AEK (Greece), Dynamo (St. Petersburg, Russia), Valencia (Spain), Aris (Greece), Bilbao (Spain), Murcia (Spain).
National Teams: Russian national team (2012-13), Greek national team (2014-16)
 
Katsikaris is a familiar face both in European and Russian basketball, though he's yet to enjoy much success during brief tenures in Russia. He spent one season at Dynamo St. Petersburg (2005-06), before the team ran into financial hardship during the offseason, while as Russia national team coach (2012-13), he didn't hold a single practice or coach a single game.

While memories of the conflict with the Russian Basketball Federation's former leadership are still fresh, Katsikaris is returning to Russia without reservations. There's no chance we'll see a repeat of the scandal that ended in the Greek getting fired before even having a chance to get down to work.

Perhaps Europe's most stylish coach, Katsikaris's move to flashy, progressive Loko seems like a logical choice. The Greek pays attention to his wardrobe: choosing the right suit, tie and glasses are no less important than developing an individual game plan on defense for Ryan Broekhoff. Kuban natives are known for their excellent taste and their new coach's fashion choices will get the proper respect...

There is one common thread linking his three adventures to Russia. At Dynamo and the Russian national team, Fotios was the replacement for David Blatt. Now the Greek needs to measure up to yet another elite coach.

Georgio Bartzokas, who managed to make the move to Barcelona this summer, raised expectations to insane levels. But the remarkable squad that did battle in the Euroleague Final Four in May is no more, with the coach and many key players departing. Katsikaris's recent teams, however, also accomplished remarkable breakthroughs. Underdog club Bilbao reached the finals of the Spanish league, Euroleague quarterfinals and Eurocup finals, while Murcia qualified for the ACB postseason for the first time last season.

No spot in the Euroleague, uncertainty at head coach, free agent signings made by the former boss...Kuban has had a challenging offseason, but expectations are still high. Even so, Katsikaris was not fazed, readily agreeing to the Red-Green invitation. He's never worked for a club with Krasnodar's resources before. Lokomotiv expects to keep moving forward and, at minimum, maintain its current position under the defensive specialist and team-first coach, whose career stalled a bit in the land of the Basques. One of Europe's most intriguing coaches will do everything he can to ensure that his third move to Russia does not end as abruptly as the first two did.

Ilias Papatheodorou, Astana

Age: 41
Country: Greece
Former Clubs: Larissaikos, Markopulo, Kifissia (Greece)
National Teams: Greek U18, U19 and U20 national teams (since 2013)

The Greek coach's biography isn't likely to make much of an impression on the average fan.

"Papatheodorou's coaching career began in 1995 at Athinaikos, where he was in charge of the youth team. He worked at the club until 2002, then took over as head coach at Larissaikos. He was in charge at Markopoulo from 2005-2007. Prior to joining Astana, he coached at one other Greek club, Kifissia, from 2007-2016."

But there is a more intriguing piece, which concerns the Greek youth teams.

In addition to his club work, Papatheodorou has coached various U18, U19 and U20 teams. In 2015, he enjoyed his greatest achievement yet as a coach, leading the U18 squad to gold at the European championships.

His team finished 14th of 16 teams in points scored, but naturally gave up the fewest points. He took humble Kifissia to Greece's top division in 2013 and immediately recorded a top-5 finish. In 2015, the team advanced to the Greek Cup Final Four, while the club qualified for its first-ever European competition (Champions League) in 2015-16. Soon, however, the squad dropped back into the 2nd division due to financial turmoil. Even Papatheodorou could do nothing about that.

The Greek school has been known for years as one of Europe's best, and Papatheodorou has shown a terrific ability to get the most from his classically trained Hellenic athletes. The demanding coach's teams have thrived thanks to defense, discipline, cohesion and strategic brilliance. Now Ilias is joining Astana, which parted ways with stars Nik Caner-Medley and Pat Calathes in the offseason, bringing in less famous, but highly motivated names like Leonidas Kaselakis, Ousman Krubally and Rod Odom. Fans of the Yellow-Blues know as much about these new additions as they did about Papatheodorou's former clubs. The Kazakh champs finished second-to-last a year ago after making the postseason three consecutive years, and gave up the most points in the League, including 263 points to Avtodor over two games.

Under Papatheodorou, it's tough to see that happening. Now's a good time to pull one more excerpt from Astana's website: "Papatheodorou is a young, ambitious and talented coach. Instead of taking a flashy approach, Astana hopes to become a strong, dangerous squad that can cause problems for any opponent and get the maximum from its resources in a bid to return to the playoffs."

Arturs Stalbergs, Nizhny Novgorod

Age: 31
Country: Latvia
National Teams: Latvia U20 (2013), Latvian national team assistant head coach

History tends to move in spirals. After beginning with virtually nothing and making it to the top division in 2010, Nizhny soared to the VTB United League finals and Euroleague Top 16, before the 2016 offseason brought major changes.

From the outside, it might appear that the Nizhny fairy tale is at an end, but the club has a different perspective on what's taken place. After parting ways with its longtime leaders, Nizhny is preparing for a new cycle and the new head coach, alongside strong-willed boss Sergey Panov, will play an important role, even though he was already accepted long ago by the Black-Whites.

Stalbergs spent two seasons as Nizhny assistant and was in charge during the 2015 preseason, while former coach Ainars Bagatskis ran the Latvian national team. Most importantly, he completely buys into the club's philosophy. During his fast-track start at Nizhny Novgorod, Stalbergs also spent a lot of time with his nation's talented youngsters, even leading the Latvian U20 squad to the finals of the 2013 European championships.

The VTB United League's youngest coach is ready to carry on the traditions of his predecessors. Semyon Antonov didn't make the Russian national team or CSKA roster overnight. Stalbergs plans to develop new Antonovs, promising exciting, aggressive, uncompromising basketball at the same time. The story of this unique club continues to be written, much in spiral-like form.

Valery Gitarkin