Ioannis Liapakis: ‘The NBA is not realistic, we have to watch something which fits for us’

Ioannis Liapakis is a basketball coach in his fourth year in charge of National Cup semi-finalists UCD Marian. He has experience of coaching in Europe’s top leagues from his time in his native Greece.

Q: How did you get into coaching?

A: I started playing in 1984 and I started coaching in 1999 at a professional level with Peristeri in Athens. When I was assistant coach, we took part in the EuroLeague in 2000 and 2001, which was a great experience. All my life, I’m involved with basketball. It’s a really important thing for me. Basketball is my life, pretty much.

Q: Is basketball a mainstream sport in Greece?

A: It’s huge. After we won the European Cup in 1987, it exploded [Greece beat the Soviet Union with a basket in the dying seconds of overtime in front of 17,000 home fans]. Right now, it’s on the same level as football as the biggest sports in Greece.

Q: What did you learn from coaching in the EuroLeague?

A: It’s an amazing experience to be involved in teams who take part in the EuroLeague. You see different players, completely different cultures and completely different styles of basketball. Of course, back in 2000 when we played in the EuroLeague, it was not so easy to get information as it is now with the internet and YouTube. Back then, we didn’t know so many things, so for us to play every week and travel to Barcelona, Real Madrid and all those big teams was huge. The crowds were unreal. We played in front of 20,000 people in Spain, Turkey and all over Europe. We learned so many things from playing against legendary players and coaches. It was phenomenal.

Q: What brought you from Greece to Ireland in 2011?

A: I moved to Ireland because my wife, who’s Greek, is here 11 years now working with an American company. For five or six years, we were going back and forth, so we decided that I’d also move. The first two years I was really lucky because Mark Ingle, the coach of DCU Mercy, gave me the opportunity to be his assistant coach when nobody knew me over here. After two years, UCD Marian were looking for a head coach and, luckily, they signed me.

Q: What’s the major difference between basketball in Greece and Ireland?

A: It was a huge difference to go from a completely professional environment to come to a team and a country where the sport is not professional. People have asked me: ‘What is the secret behind the Greek players and teams?’. I tell them there is no secret. Greek and European players train five days a week for two hours a day for almost 11 months of the year. Here, unfortunately, the players train twice a week with an hour and a half of practice for six months. But, in fairness, even with this much less practice, Irish players try really hard and they have a really good level. When I first came here and I realised it isn’t professional, I was thinking, ‘Wow – the level is going to be awful’. But I realised the level is good for somebody who is training that amount, and I have to give credit to all the players and coaches here in Ireland.

Q: Does the six-month off-season make it difficult to maintain improvements from one year to the next?

A: Exactly. I’m really proud of my players because for the past two or three years, even when the League finishes at the end of March, we keep training until the end of June. So, I keep the lads on court and we train almost ten months a year. That’s why we have improved so much as a team and as individual players.

Q: Should the Super League calendar be expanded?

A: That would be a good idea. Of course, clubs would complain that if we extend the Super League for a month, they have to pay more money for the foreign players and other expenses, so it’s a tricky situation. It’s all about money. Basketball Ireland are doing a really good job because not so long ago, it was in debt, and from next year there’s not going to be any debt, which is a huge thing. But, at the same time, they’re going to need help from the government or sponsors to extend the league or do something more.

Q: Did you have to change your own approach going from professional to amateur teams?

A: Yes, but basketball is the same. It doesn’t change. The only thing you have to be able to adapt to is that the players do not get paid to do the job. And all the players pay to play, with fees to the teams. You have to be able to have a balance because it’s a thin line — how much you’re going to push a player to his limit when he’s paying to play. I try to make them understand and believe: ‘It doesn’t matter that we’re not professional, let’s try to play as a professional’. With UCD Marian, it was really difficult for the guys to adapt to me and me to adapt to the mentality and culture. But I have to give a lot of credit to my players, because, right now, they train as professionals, which is amazing.

Q: Is there a certain playing style you get your teams to play?

A: Yes. The EuroLeague and most European games are using a lot of pick-and-roll situations. They target specific players for specific positions to try to find mismatches. This is something that I’m trying to bring to the team. For the past four years, we watch a lot of EuroLeague games. Pretty much every week we get together and watch games so they can have pictures of the situations. This helps them a lot and we’re looking good right now compared to the first year. I’m really happy and proud of the guys because they try to change the whole mentality that they had. Many players and coaches watch the NBA, but that’s not realistic. We’re never going to be so fast, so tall, so strong like the NBA players, so we have to be a little more realistic and try to watch something which fits for us. The European and EuroLeague are a much better fit for Irish players.