MIES (Switzerland) - The Quarter-Finals of the Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL are here. With eight teams left, that also means there are only eight coaches still in the running for Coach of the Season award to be handed out in May.
The reigning Coach of the Season, Txus Vidorreta of La Laguna Tenerife is, of course, still in the running to become the first coach to win the award twice, but as always, he faces some intense competition this year.
Seeing as seven of the eight have a strong claim to the throne, instead of writing an article discussing who could or should win the award, we decided to look at the strength of each claim and take a guess at what each coach needs to do between now and the first weekend in May if they want to be the ninth winner of this award.
Dragan Sakota (AEK BC)
Why should he win the award?
An 11-1 record across the Regular Season and the Round of 16, with a perfect 6-0 record in the Round of 16.
His captain, RaiQuan Gray is the MVP of the Round of 16, and probably the hot favourite to win the season MVP award. Sakota's AEK also have the 2nd best Net Rating in the league this season, at +16 points per 100 possessions.
It's not hyperbole to say that AEK have been the best team in the BCL this season. Dragan Sakota's ability to build a team and create a bond with the fanbase is almost certainly the main driving force behind that.
What does he need to do?
Well, there is the small matter of getting past Asisa Joventut in the Quarter-Finals.
If AEK make it past the Final Four hosts and reach reach the big show in May, Dragan Sakota will be sitting pretty in the race for the Coach of the Season award.
Giedrius Zibenas (Rytas Vilnius)
Why should he win the award?
When you hear the term "under the radar" in sports debates, this season's version of Rytas Vilnius is exactly the type of team that is likely to be at the centre of the conversation.
Somehow, Giedrius Zibenas squad have topped their group in the Regular Season and the Round of 16, and also sit 2nd in offensive efficiency per game (121.06), yet somehow, the highest Rytas have reached in the Power Rankings this season is #6.
Zibenas has had it far from easy this season. Injuries, schedules and tough opponents have meant his job will have felt like a roller coaster this season, but with the the Lithuanians finally reaching the Quarter-Finals for the first time, the ride has already been worth it.
What does he need to do?
Whilst it may sound strange to mention a club the size of Rytas Vilnius as an underdog, such is the strength of the field in the BCL this season, they absolutely are punching up in their pursuit of glory.
The good thing for Zibenas here, is that the Coach of the Season award is stacked with underdogs. From John Patrick with Ludgwigsburg, to Vassilis Spanoulis with Peristeri, a coach steering an underdog club to the Final Four has always put them in pole position for this award.
In Rytas and Zibenas' way are ERA Nymburk and Oren Amiel. If he can navigate those waters, and AEK are unable to get past Joventut, Zibenas will have every right to feel confident here.
Txus Vidorreta (La Laguna Tenerife)
Why should he win the award?
If you come for the king, you best not miss.
Fans of the TV show The Wire (or perhaps Nicolo Machiavelli for the more learned amongst us) will know how perfectly that quote fits Txus Vidorreta when it comes to coaching in the BCL.
Tenerife struggled with injuries to Marcelinho Huertas and suffered their first home loss in the BCL for four years. Just when things were looking ropey, Huertas came back from injury ahead of schedule, and they signed Patty Mills.
Vidorreta has integrated him into the system so seemlesly, it's like Neo learning martial arts in the Matrix, only it's the Boomers legend plugged into Sasu Salin's or David Kramer's instinctive understanding of Tenerife basketball.
Is there a better coach in Europe when it comes to incorporating players into a system focused on details and tactics?
Just remember that you never write off a Txus Vidorreta Tenerife team. Oh, and look at what happened the last time we held the Final Four in Northern Spain...
What does he need to do?
The same thing he always does, steer Tenerife to the Final Four.
This year's Quarter-Finals may be the toughest test they have ever faced at this stage of the competition, though. It was Galatasaray MCT Technic that knocked them out in last year's Semi-Finals and for Vidorreta to be the first coach to win this award twice, he will need to vanquish the ghosts of Athens.
Ibon Navarro (Unicaja)
Why should he win the award?
Unicaja are the reigning back-to-back BCL champions, they've only lost twice all season and Ibon Navarro's side the best team in the whole competition for Net Rating at +21.36 per 100 possessions.
That means they have been more efficient than AEK and more efficient than their Liga Endesa rival Joventut.
What does he need to do?
It's more about tweaks than wholesale changes for Ibon Navarro and Unicaja at this point of the season.
Yes, they did just lose 95-70 at home to Tenerife in the Liga Endesa but before that they had quietly won four of their last five in all competitions, including a convincing 86-74 win over Joventut to close out the Round of 16.
The Unicaja machine may not be firing on all cylinders yet, but a Quarter-Finals test against the high-tempo Germans, ALBA BERLIN, might just refresh a few championship memories for Navarro and Unicaja.
Daniel Miret (Asisa Joventut)
Why should he win the award?
Joventut became the first team to start life in the BCL with nine straight W's. To date, they've only lost twice in twelve games as well.
Daniel Miret has amalgamated the wealth of talent on his roster around Ricky Rubio and his hometown hero has richly rewarded him. They share the ball better than anyone in the league with 20% of their possessions ending with an assist and average over 22 assists per game.
What does he need to do?
Other than what can only be described as a blip against Unicaja on the final game of the Round of 16, Miret's Joventut roster is purring right now.
New arrival Jabari Parker looks like the missing piece and they have won five of their last six, including wins against Barcelona and Dreamland Gran Canaria.
Up next is AEK as this year's hosts take on last year's hosts. Really, all he needs to do, is keep doing what he's been doing all season and try to find a way to win at least one game in Athens.
Pedro Calles (ALBA BERLIN)
Why should he win the award?
ALBA BERLIN almost certainly play one of the most imposing styles of basketball in the BCL. They run relentlessly and crash the offensive glass relentlessly.
If their opponents aren't ready for a night of hard yards and physical battles then Pedro Calles team will force them to play their way or lose.
They hoover up a league-leading 38 percent of their own misses and force their opponents to a league-high Turnover Percentage of 19 percent.
On paper this team reads like a John Patrick Ludwigsburg system, but on the court it looks like an uptempo blend of Tumoas Iisalo's Telekom Baskets Bonn with the ball movement of a club from the Liga Endesa.
Pedro Calles already made his mark on the BCL with Rasta Vechta, but if he can plot a route past the defending, back-to-back champions, Unicaja, then he might make forever mark on the list of winners of this award.
What does he need to do?
Please see above. It's no small feat to find a way to beat Unicaja, not least because the way that Ibon Navarro rotates his roster, you never know which player will be the one most likely to hurt you on any given night.
However, for a team like ALBA BERLIN, the biggest task will be finding a way to speed up and force turnovers against this Unicaja backcourt. There are few better than Kendrick Perry when it comes to dictating the big moments in big games.
Oren Amiel (ERA Nymburk)
Why should he win the award?
ERA Nymburk are in the Quarter-Finals. When you look at the strength of the field in Season X, it really brings that achievement into focus.
The context here is that they started the season 1-5 and needed to reach the Round of 16 via the Play-Ins. But for a club the size of ERA Nymburk playing against giants like ALBA BERLIN, how you got there is nowhere near as important as actually getting there.
What does he need to do?
Oren Amiel needs to do something no Nymburk coach has ever done before, including himself, and reach the Final Four. It's really that simple.
If he can pull off that feat, then we could have two coaches vying to become the first to win this award twice. He won this award in 2020 during his first successful stint with the club.
Now he will need to beat his own achievement to win it again.
Gianmarco Pozzecco (Galatasaray MCT Technic)
Why should he win the award?
This one is a little harder.
When you start at a club in January, it's probably too late in the day to steal the march on everyone else.
That's not to say Pozzecco hasn't had a positive impact since arriving, but everyone else has a full season of work to stand behind.
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