'European Caesar" Seizes China Opportunity

Beijing 2008: How did you reach your decision to come to China as head coach of the Chinese National Men’s Basketball Team?

 

Jonas Kazlauskas: Well, it’s a long story. China first invited me when I was at the Lithuanian Lietuvos Rytas Club, but I had a contract with the club. I later changed my mind and left. Shortly thereafter, several European clubs intended to invite me to join them, but at just about the same time, China invited me again and the job opportunity was very attractive. According to my contract, I would coach the Chinese team until the 2004 Athens Olympics. To be involved in the Olympics and to work with NBA coach Del Harris was really a great opportunity.

As the assistant coach, together with Del, we set our goals for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and cooperated very well. After the Athens Games, the Chinese Basketball Association set in motion its long-term plan.

We didn’t talk a lot about further cooperation; I signed the contract with the Greece Olympiakos Basketball Club. A little while later, I got an invitation from China for the head coach position. Comparing the two sides, of course, I found to be the head coach of the Chinese team was clearly a big challenge for me. But this is something related to the Olympics. If China performs well in 2008 Olympic Games, it will be good for China and for me, and it will be my fourth Olympic Games in a row. This is why I’m here. I can easily go back to Europe, but if I lost this offer, maybe I would miss China forever.

 

What do you think about Chinese basketball?

 

If you compare it with the strongest teams, there is no doubt that the Chinese players are lagging behind a little bit. But they are making huge progress. For instance, during the last World Championships, they won against strong teams such as Slovenia, who was on tap to get world medals. They are making huge progress, but they still do not belong to the elite.

In China, the biggest problem is that the gap between players is very clear. On the world’s strongest teams, the gaps are not very clear.

We have Yao Ming, who is one of the top-10 players in the world: then we have players like Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian, but the gap between Yao and them is clear: then we have other players whose gap is bigger if compared with Wang and Yi. 

I know we don’t have much time, so we work very hard to improve. China is one of the biggest countries in the world so basketball and its players have a big market. Most of our players are very famous in China, but they are not big names internationally, except Yao. I want to help every player to improve; I am very happy to see any progress, from anyone. If someone thinks of himself as a Superstar-someone who is arrogant and lazy, I will tell him directly: “Outside of China, you are no one.”

 

For a successful coach, personal skills are very important. But luck is also necessary. How do you describe your luck as head coach of China’s National Men’s Basketball Team?  

 

This is a good question. Not only the coach, but also the players and the team need this type of “good luck.” This is the biggest difference between clubs and national teams. Clubs are under a training regimen. You can change players and find the players you need. A good club coach needs to be a good organizer and have a good connection with various players. As a national team coach, you just coach what you get and cannot get players from other countries.

 

From 1997 to 2001, you were the coach of the Lithuanian National Team, which was considered one of the best in Europe and which won the European Championships in 2003. You have coached two top Lithuanian basketball clubs. What did you find when you came to China to coach the men’s basketball team?

 

Probably, there are no big differences in training, and sports halls, because international basketball is the same everywhere. Everything needs to be done to make training more productive to get the best results. It doesn’t matter if you work in Lithuania, Greece, or China. Training just needs to yield results. Maybe, there are more differences because we belong to different cultures and observe different customs. Many things that seem simple to them are difficult for me to understand. And what is difficult to understand for them is easy for me.

 

People call you a “European Caesar.” It seems you are very strict with the players. How do you get along with them?

 

Sometimes I find my words are not getting into their heads; I do criticize them strictly, but this is the last thing I would do.

I’m a normal guy from Lithuania. Maybe, in China, I seem strict and crazy. In Greece, when I coached the team, I yelled and roared, but local people said, “What’s the coach doing? He is sleepy!” In Greece, if you didn’t break chairs and tables, they will think the coach is sleepy. This is just one difference between the two cultures.

The point is in games, in practice, I am the boss, and they must follow my direction. When we finish the practice, we can make jokes and chat freely. I would like to communicate with my players freely, but in the game, we should be a team, we have to know who the boss is and who makes the decisions.

 

How about your life in Beijing?

 

No problem for food: Chinese cuisine is very good. I have already visited many places in Beijing, such as the Great Wall and Summer Palace, several times. I often go fishing with other coaches. Dr. Du Wenliang is good at fishing. I found a good spring resort in southern Beijing. I have been there three times. Maybe, after the Olympic Games, I can be a tour guide in Beijing.

 

What’s your goal for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games?

 

The best place China has achieved at an Olympic Games was eighth. I think the minimal goal should be eighth. But we can analyze the situation and we can talk about sixth. But at this Olympic Games, competition for the fifth to eighth places was cancelled. So talking about the sixth is useless. If we expect fourth, it is not an easy task.

 

What are your predictions for the best basketball performers at the 2008 Games?

 

I think that the US team will be very strong. I think they have learned from their latest setbacks and will do everything to win these Olympic Games. I think that four or five other teams will be very strong, too. The teams on my mind include Spain, Greece, Argentina, France and Lithuania.