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i only said i would prefer a fluent english speaker from canada or the usa and i didnt say anything about you guys being portugese or mentioned nationality.

The reason why I said I prefer someone from canada or the usa isnt only because off the language, it is also because in these countries basketball is a sport (together with a few others) that is on a different level from all the other sports. People in these countries wake up and go to bed with basketball in their minds... Although this doesnt guarantee them to be better coaches in BB, I do think it gives them an edge.

You ask me to make a speech. I am not going to do this. There are a few simple reasons for this. As you noticed elmacca, one off the most active players in england wouldnt appreciate me becoming the U21 NT. which is a fair point, I dont take this personally at all.

Secondly, what do you want me to say? Say that I will do better than the coaches before me have done? That I will turn the players that we have available into stars? (i know you havent said this, but this is what most wannabe coaches write). All I can say is that i would do my best, spend alot off time, and hope some england coaches would be willing to help to keep the U21 team going, by the english players themselves. I think that is the most that is possible with this team.

I am not a basketball pro either, so I cant say that like most players write. I am from holland and basketball is a very small sport there too. However as a sports trader by trade and yes I am responsible for the NBA as well, I have picked up quite a bit about basketball over the last few years. That is why i started playing buzzerbeater, hoping I would learn more about basketball and the tactics involved etc so that I can understand NBA games better when I watch them, and to be honested it worked.

So no I am not the most knowledgeable available candidate when it comes to basketball, however I am sure that with the help from the other active english coaches, and with my enthusiasm for this game I will certainly get the best out off this teams capabilities.

ps sort off a speech anyway. and dont worry, if you guys get the job, I am more than happy to help wherever I can...

ps to elmacca, i know why you are worried with regards to the U21 being first available to the U21 coach. We have had this discussion before. But didnt the NT coach post available players on the english forums right away? I think he did, and I would do the same thing. We will have to wait and see what happens with the new changes to merchandise etc for home grown stars, however I have seen very few english players from whom I feel would be trainable and get me to the top off the EBBL...

Last edited by Astragoth at 9/8/2009 4:13:37 PM

To be honest, I'm wondering whether Juice doesn't have a point and that I'm worrying too much. You're going to make it to the EBBL and be competitive whether you are U21 coach or not - and if you'll permit me being a bit patronising, seem to have mellowed out quite a bit. Actually, i think you should run, you'll make an excellent coach and most of the established players know who you are and have kept an eye on your team, which gives you an advantage over the Portugese lads, who seem nice enough. I do think you should make a speech though, for form's sake if nothing else - and the fact that new players won't know who you are.

Last edited by Elmacca at 9/8/2009 4:18:49 PM

The reason why I said I prefer someone from canada or the usa isnt only because off the language, it is also because in these countries basketball is a sport (together with a few others) that is on a different level from all the other sports. People in these countries wake up and go to bed with basketball in their minds... Although this doesnt guarantee them to be better coaches in BB, I do think it gives them an edge.

I'm a basketball player since my 11 years old, and Fenómeno plays since his 7th. I know it's not the same thing, but I follow the NBA. Everyday, I visit the NBA site to see the news, games, etc. I have a TV channel in Portugal that shows a NBA game per day, so I can say that I wake thinking about basket, and sleep dreaming with it xD

Secondly, what do you want me to say? Say that I will do better than the coaches before me have done? That I will turn the players that we have available into stars? (i know you havent said this, but this is what most wannabe coaches write). All I can say is that i would do my best, spend alot off time, and hope some england coaches would be willing to help to keep the U21 team going, by the english players themselves. I think that is the most that is possible with this team.

Being u21 NT coach it's not only about match results. The main goal is to help training players so that the senior team can have a bright future. So I'd like to know what measures you will take to acomplish this goal.




you were saying that you have to ask USA coaches to apply fo this team. What do you prefer, a user that applys on his own, or a player that only appliys because someone asked him and he doens't want to disapoint him?


I really like the idea of having one oponent, because it will lead to debate. And this will give us the oportunity of showing better our measures

I'd like to point out another thing about our apply. Me and Fenómeno play in the same basketball club, so we are a lot of time together, and I think that it is good because we can talk about the NT more easily.

And I have a question for you:

Do you think that you can take care of the NT all by yourself?

::sigh::

Hi all

Just to let you know, I have thrown my hat into the ring to become the next U-21 manager. I have made my speech, so it'll be up to you guys to vote for me.

I know what the English leagues are all about, there are some fantastic managers here and although we are a small group when compared with other countries, there is some amazing talent out there. The U-21s are the future to the English National team and I want to play my part in nuturing them.

having helped the national coaches on several occasions over the last few seasons with scouting for example, and I dont want to argue with people, since this should be a debate, but where do you find this amazing talent? I really cant see them. Did you scout the draftees for this season or the last few seasons? If so, please show me the players that you think one day might stand a chance in making it into the U21 team. I hardly see any. People can call me negative if they like, but we have to be realistic and not expect wonders from a very average BB nation and therefore players...

Last edited by Astragoth at 9/9/2009 5:21:53 AM

I'm not expecting to perform a miracle Astrogoth, don't get me wrong but i'm sure there will be some decent young players about. Both you and I know that the majority of draftees from Season 9 will not be ready yet but it will definitely be worth looking at them.
Yeah perhaps I don't have the scouting knowledge you have Astragoth, fair enough. I'm not saying i'm the gospel at all things Buzzerbeater as there still is room for improvement.

I missed something – Astragoth if you have this extensive knowledge of what is out there then the information you have accumulated would be useful and I can therefore either agree with you or judge for myself.

If you want to call it extensive knowledge, you are right i do have that. Let me explain why I believe there is a lack of knowledgable coaches in the english community and why this is partly the cause why there are no great U21 players available to pick from.

At the beginning off Season 9 there was a discussion, started by the current England U21 coach, asking us to look for, buy and train U21 prospects. On a few occasions he even posted them on the forums. I thought it was a great idea and I started scouting english players. Every 2-3 days I had a look for 18 and 19 year old english players. I noticed a few things. One, the players were or not good enough to be trainable or/and the prices that were asked for these players were way too high. Most off these players were not sold and clearly not being trained. Than later in the season, the players were relisted again, again at a way too high price. We do have a few trainable players that are drafted every season. But as I am sure you know, the only real way forward is to start a 18 year old player directly after he is being drafted. A 19 year old player wouldnt really make a difference, neither would a 18 year old player that wasnt trained for like half a season. Perhaps if he is a real cracker, you could train him, but how many real crackers do we have?

I wont give you names, because I dont have any. I dont have an excel sheet at the ready right now. But have a look at the draftees this season, just not in england but overall. I dont have exact figures and cant prove it, but from what I can see, the players with high potential are almost all 19 year olds and very few are interesting enough to be trained to become U21 players. With the 18 years it is even worse. Barely any 18 years have higher potential than all star and look at their salaries. Very few have a salary higher than 4500. With other words, very little potential among the english players, than combine this with the other problem I described before and I am sure you can see the overall problem.

That is why I would like to be proactive and contact coaches with interesting U21 prospects at the start off the season and suggest to train their players or else advice them how to sell them, at a fair price and not too high. This would help the U21 team because the player would most likely be trained and secondly you dont loose time with the players being trained.