The problem with speaking rarely is that when you speak you never stop. The “informal” meeting of Luis Scola with the Varese print It’s almost an hour and a half of chatting in the Masnago hospitality room and it started with news – the only certain one – that many were expecting. Tom Bialaszewski is no longer the coach of Varese Basketball «but I am happy – says el General – that he started his career as head coach with us given our good relationship that has lasted for years».
Bialaszewski (we will return to him later) he will perhaps leave his place to Herman Mandole and Scola confirms this too, even if the negotiation is not yet closed and does not involve any collaborations with the Argentine Federation: «We have made our proposal to Herman and he is happy to be our first choice: at the moment we have not yet reached an agreement because we are talking about some details but we would like to go in this direction. And the same goes for Marco Legovich which we would like to confirm.” For Mandole, competition could come from the G-League which could pave the way to the NBA for the 40-year-old Argentine: we’ll see if Varese has the upper hand.
However, the situation of the Openjobmetis technical staff was only one of the points touched upon by Scola during the afternoon, even if – let’s say it straight away – the red and white CEO avoided talking about individuals players regarding possibility of confirmation. A partial exception was made for Nico Mannion, the team’s frontman, for whom Scola confirmed his desire to keep him in Varese, however speaking of the broader impact the Red Mamba has had for all the work of the club and not just for the results of the first team. Let’s see – summarized in points – the General’s thoughts at the end of the 2023-24 season.
BIALASZEWSKI AND THE CHANGES
«I believe that the initial responsibility for the results was not his and for this reason we made some changes to the team without affecting his position. Then, after the changes, the team did quite well with 9 wins and 9 defeats in a year in which they went to the playoffs with less than 50% of games won. And it stopped having those collapses, with the exception of Reggio, to which it had previously been subjected: indeed, sometimes the net gap was in our favor.”
THE CLUB’S SEASONAL BUDGET
«If I look at how the season went in general I am very happy. The project continues with the youth sector and the growth continues, with the women’s team which we are happy with and the wheelchair team which has found Serie A again. We have made positive changes in the management for both the basketball and corporate aspects and we have also managed to grow at the fan level despite last year’s results. This is all very positive. The discussion regarding the first team is somewhat different.”
THE BUDGET OF THE FIRST TEAM
«In the second part of the season the team reached a good level of play but we are not happy with the final result in the championship. We certainly don’t celebrate salvation: we have much higher objectives and the 12 victories obtained compared to 17 last year are few, our will is to always improve. Having said that, we accept the result but, precisely, we don’t celebrate it. Another not positive thing is that we had to make changes throughout the season: the additions went well but philosophically we would like to avoid changing the team during the year. Having said that, I think that 14th place in this championship is better than that of 2022 when we remained below the safety zone for a long time. We finished level with 11th, practically closer to the playoffs than to relegation.”
THE GAME SYSTEM
«The coach is 100% free to make choices: neither I nor anyone else are the coaches, the choices belong to those on the bench. Varese has a game system that is neither mine nor Tom’s nor anyone else’s but it is an evolving model: for example there are many things designed in attack by Roijakkers or Brase, everyone brought something. Our basketball went very well last year, this year less so but we played a different one: we want to field the basketball that we think gives the best chance of winning games.”
MANNION
«Nico changed the team on the pitch but the most important thing is that a similar player – for me the best in the championship overall – considered the possibility of coming here and then chose to play in Varese. Something that was unthinkable until two or three years ago: today, however, it is easier for us than in the past to think about these operations, we have access to another level of players even if it will not always be possible to sign them. And then it is essential that Nico is happy to play here: it doesn’t mean that he will stay for sure but this helps us a lot in the transfer phase. Until two years ago, players came to Varese on annual contracts, now everyone accepts longer deals and even if we were to lose them due to exit clauses, they would bring money to the club to reinvest on the market. Having said that, we would like to keep Mannion: the deadline for the Euroleague is closer than that for the NBA but if they are not respected he will remain a Varese Basketball player.”
SPONSOR OPENJOBMETIS
«Rosario Rasizza has been a great main sponsor for 10 years and for me he has been an incredible support. I am happy with what he has done: we hope and hope that Openjobmetis can continue with us; we will talk to Group Crit to understand if it will be a viable path and for what it matters I’m confident. Our objective and our energy are oriented towards continuity in this case too.”
THE ROLE OF VARESE SPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT (VSE)
«VSE is a newborn entity and is still trying to define the next steps. It is clearly related to Varese Basketball and was created to support the club but they are two separate things: the idea is that the two parts can grow and that they can feed each other but we are talking about the medium to long term. The results will be seen over time, they will not have a strong impact on next season’s budget. Compared to a partner like the Pelligra group, it is perhaps a slower but more solid partner and guarantees more organic growth.”
GAME SYSTEM – I am not the coach and no one is other than the coach. His choices are his. We have a game system that is neither mine nor Tom’s nor anyone’s. Many things done in attack are still those of Roijakkers or Brase, everyone brings something because the model is constantly evolving.
THE EUROPEAN CUPS
«The prospect of playing the Cups is always there: we want to be there, we would like to go to the Champions League or Eurocup and finally to the Euroleague but our current level is the Fiba Europe Cup. For now it is too early to know if we will play it but we want to play it for win it, trying to convince fans and sponsors to look at this competition with the same interest as us. We know that Serie A is more important but the Fiba Cup also has an interesting place.”
THE YOUTH SECTOR
It’s a topic that I’m very passionate about, which perhaps people notice less but which is fundamental because a long-term objective, we’ll see if it’s feasible, is to have five boys who have come out of the academy in the five Italian positions. For this reason we must increasingly broaden the base of practitioners by also linking ourselves to local clubs to reach 1000 kids in our area. The guesthouse (in the Suspended Gardens complex ed) is another development and together with the Campus which is a first level facility it is fundamental for us. The agreement with Robur also makes me happy: just think that two of my children play there. In general we are working to become a top nursery at European level: we are not there yet for many reasons, we have various aspects to improve but this is our goal. Even the release of members represents an opportunity: it is a risk for those who are poor, not for those who are good.”
