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HO: Let’s go to the frontcourt. We mentioned Juan Onrubia, who is off to a great start, and Prudence Masuecos, who is doing yeoman’s work in the middle. Talk about the other guys up front for a bit.

JB: Arout Hairigyan just needs to play. That’s all. Just let him play. He’s not off to the best start shooting the ball, but there’s no question he’s too good to bring off the bench. Let him cook. Hugo Gareca isn’t at that point yet, but he will be soon. GM Roberto Gurgone was raving about the kid when they got him last season, and he showed flashes. This season they want to bring him along much like they did last season, but they expect more from him. The goal when they got him was they wanted to be able to start him next season. They’re on track for that, and you can clearly see Byron Helm’s handiwork developing him. A Gareca/Hairigyan pairing would be fun to watch.

HO: Where does Ladislav Furka fit in?

JB: He’s going to be a longer term version of Hugo Gareca, developmentally wise. I’m not saying they’re similar players; I want to be clear about that. He was brought here with an eye on developing him into a starter by his age 24 season. Defensively, he can play right now. No doubt about that. He can rebound, he’s solid with the ball in his hands, and he’s a better shot blocker than Masuecos without question.

HO: That’s one heck of a statement, Jimmy.

JB: I think even Masuecos would concede that. Offensively, there’s a path they want Furka on, and they’re determined to get him there.

HO: What have you seen defensively from the team?

JB: Strangely enough, their lone win was the worst defensive performance of the season. Dallas shot 44% from the field in that game. Great Lakes shot 38% in their win, and High Point shot 40% if you round up. I asked Pio after the Dallas game why the change in that game; he usually disdains the 2-3 zone. He was trying to protect Gareca defensively by pairing him with Furka up front. His thinking was Furka could backstop him with his shot blocking, and Hairigyan and Masuecos would provide additional support off the bench. What happened was it did help Gareca stay in the game despite foul trouble, but Furka having to leave the game deprived the defense of that backstop they planned for. Hairigyan is a solid shot blocker in his own right, but he’s not on the level of Masuecos or Furka in that regard.

HO: So ball security is the issue?

JB: That’s a fair statement. Against High Point, 17 turnovers and High Point had 11 steals. That’s 28 possessions lost. They lost that game by 13, and you can see how that would be a huge reason. Great Lakes, 16 turnovers and 11 steals. They lost that one by 5. Even in the win, it was 12 turnovers and 6 steals. They won by 7, but this team has to do a better job with ball security. The rebounding and defense will be fine; there are 3 teams with a better points allowed in the league, and two of them reside in this conference. Take care of the basketball, and for goodness sake will someone on this team make a free throw? There is no reason this team should be as horrible at free throw shooting as they are.

HO: I know that has to be infuriating to Pio.

JB: It is. He wants his teams to defend, rebound, take care of the basketball, and control what they can control. The first two are simply effort. Don’t try for the great play when the safe play gets the same result. Make your free throws. Those are things this team can control.

HO: We’re out of time. Jimmy, thanks for being here, and thank you all for tuning in to the Pio Reina Show on the Linndale Basketball Network.

“Why did you just put the best offensive big man this team has had on the market? He was being developed, he was making strides, and he would have forced his way into the lineup without question.” Pio Reina was an angry man, and he wanted answers.

“You’re right to be angry,” Roberto started, “but business is business. That was a business move. Now for the corresponding basketball move. I’m aware of what the young man can do, but I’m also aware of what he can’t do. Let’s talk. What would you want in order to be able to move Masuecos around on the floor?” Roberto Gurgone knew his friend was angry, so he appealed to the basketball mind.

“A big to anchor the defense, provide rebounding, and an inside threat on offense.” Pio didn’t think he’d get it, but he thought he might as well shoot his shot.

“Okay, here’s a guy that meets your requirements. He walks in and starts. What do we put around him in the starting five? Colenbrander, Onrubia…” Roberto let the thought trail off. Pio jumped on it.

“Hairigyan, and the rest change depending on matchups and training. The problem is---”

“No longer a problem. Sorry to cut you off there. You want a rebounder and a post threat on the second unit, right?”

“Go on.”

“You need to train up Furka anyway, and he takes care of half the equation right now. We’re training up Billings; he’ll help out. Kenet and Audinys give you matchup options”, continued Roberto.

“I don’t like where this is going. Don’t do that. Please, not that.” Pio knew exactly where this was heading, and Roberto knew that he knew.

“Pio, we need to get these kids up and running. You want defense, rebounding and ball security. That’s Furka. Right now. That’s Hairigyan. Right now. Billings is right there on the doorstep. We have to go all in on the bigs right now. You know I’m gonna move him and you know I’ll replace him up front. He doesn’t have the ball security you want. We’ll be deeper up front, have more flexibility, stronger defensively and on the boards, and---”

“AND WE’LL BE IN DIVISION 4 NEXT SEASON DEVELOPING GUARDS!” Pio was red hot now. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then continued. “We haven’t had a capable shooting big man like Gareca. We haven’t had a young big man with his offense. We need guys who can put the ball in the bucket.”

“Pio, I get that. Hairigyan can replace a lot of Gareca’s production. Billings is as good a rebounder, has better ball skills, and is better defensively. He and Hairigyan can replace Gareca’s outside shooting. You want time to bring along Furka, I’ll get you that, but it’s gonna cost. You know who that cost is, and we can replace his production in waves. We’ll be deeper as a result. Deep enough to have the anchor in place to replace the temporary anchor and not miss a beat. And I know you’re already getting the guards some work; let’s update the plan and fill in the staff later. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“And your contingency plan?”

Roberto slides the file over to Pio to look at. “Why don’t you look at the film while you’re at it?” Roberto felt confident he won his friend and his head coach over. “Now how long do you need to get him up to speed?”

“Forget the first guy; give me this guy, and all is forgiven. He doesn’t have to start. We can play him with Furka on the second unit. They complement each other almost perfectly and the overlap is exactly what we want. We can fix his faults.”

“And the other thing?”

“I’ll always hate losing players, but not as much as I hate losing games.”

at the post game press conference…

Pio Reina: That was an unacceptable performance. Absolutely, positively, definitely unacceptable. I owe Juan Onrubia an apology, and so do his teammates. Juan absolutely did everything in his power to win this game, and we didn’t give him much help. I’m especially embarrassed at our rebounding. Best game in regards to turnovers all season, and we can’t get rebound? We finally get ball security straightened out and we can’t rebound? Are you kidding me?

Sam Dunkley: Coach, Sam Dunkley from the Basketball Times.

PR: Hi, Sam. Tough night here.

SD: Indeed. How much of tonight’s performance was due to Cheng Siu Wa’s very recent arrival?

PR: Zero percent. The guy he was opposite doesn’t score much. He rebounds, defends and blocks shots. That’s what he did tonight. Our guy only got 2 shots off and 4 rebounds. As a team we got destroyed on the boards; it wasn’t just his fault. They beat us up on the boards. Listen, Onrubia is a solid rebounder, but there is no way when you have guys like Arout Hairigyan, Chieng Siu Wa, and Ladislav Furka that we should get blasted on the boards like we did. If Onrubia is second on the team in rebounding like he was tonight, if I was a big man on this team I’d be utterly embarrassed. Masuecos was the only big who came to work.

Jimmy Buckitts: Coach, did the recent departure of Hugo Gareca affect you at all tonight?

PR: No. Not one iota.

JB: What about the lack of free throw attempts?

PR: I would have liked more free throws, but we got what we got.

Random reporter: Is there anything you can take away from this game?

PR: I’m guessing you guys want me to say that the ball moved better, and we took care of the ball. Our shot blocking ability flashed tonight. I’m supposed to say that. I’m supposed to say our three point shooting was good tonight. That’s what you guys want me to say, right? That’s what the guys in that locker room want me to say. Let me tell you guys something, and if you’re new here, you need to understand this. I demand defense, rebounding, and ball security. Everything else comes after that. We can’t score? OK; stop them from scoring. Grab rebounds. Take care of the basketball. Do those three things, and you have a chance in every game. Did our defense show up tonight? No. Did our rebounding show up tonight? No. Two out of the three things that are ingrained into the culture of this organization did not show up. The only thing I can take away from this is that the guys in the locker room need to man up and show me they want to play here, because this cannot continue. We done here? I need to go have more words with my basketball team. This was absolutely unacceptable.