Rostislav Vergun: "We need to improve our defense a lot"

Press conference of the Zenit interim head coach following the home game in the VTB United League against Avtodor (105:79).

— Congratulations to the guys on the victory. Probably the most important statistic is the 25 assists. It was clear that almost everyone on the court was enjoying what they were doing and bringing joy to others. I think that’s probably the biggest positive. We’ve discussed this in the locker room before: if the team sets goals to compete for serious positions, it cannot be the case that one person scores 23 points in our hall in just half the game. That’s probably the biggest issue we face today. I repeat, if we are thinking about May and June, we need to improve our defense as a team very significantly.

— Georgy Zhbanov said that adjustments were made regarding Malik Newman during the long break. What about the first short break between quarters? In the first ten minutes, he scored 17 points.

— I’m very concerned about the statistic where our players play more than 20 minutes and have zero personal fouls. Probably, everything stems from this. First of all, we had to make some rotations and changes. Overall, we didn’t deviate from the original plan. It’s just that those who performed their work better and more efficiently played more in the second half, and this resulted in the outcome.

— Today, instead of the usual Sergey Karasev, Trent Fraser was the team captain. What was behind this unexpected change?

— That was a management decision. I won’t comment on it. I think everyone accepted it. You understand that the team goes through certain stages of formation and sometimes has to adapt on the go. This is probably one of the measures. We hope it will help.

— Please clarify your status in the Zenit basketball club. Did you sign a contract as a coach, and will you remain in this role even if a foreign specialist is brought in?

— Absolutely. I signed a contract as an assistant coach and am temporarily acting as head coach.

— Will you continue your work with the Belarus national team?

— Since the national team is not participating in official games, the situation is completely controlled. I have agreements with the federation and the ministry of sports. I work with the national team in the summer, which does not affect my commitments to professional clubs. So, as of now, I will not participate in any camps or official games for the national team until the end of the year.

— What is Oliver Popovic’s position on your staff?

— Oliver is the head coach of the reserve team, and he has helped us tremendously. I would also like to highlight Maxim Uchaykin’s work. The volume of work we had to handle in the past week would have been impossible without him. This is team work by the coaches. Oliver helped us while we were on the road in Moscow.

— Oliver Popovic has a lot of experience with youth teams but less with senior squads. How much did his experience help the senior team, especially in the match against CSKA?

— It seems that any specialist at this level, with such experience and understanding of the game, can always bring a fresh idea at the very least. It’s always better to have multiple opinions. When we prepared for the CSKA game, everyone shared their ideas, their opinions, and we came to a common denominator. Basketball is one — both senior and youth. Yes, there are different objectives. Here, the main goal is results. In youth basketball, it’s more about player development. But a professional can adapt and be useful at any level.

— After the CSKA game, there were only two full practice days, and now there are five before the next game. Can this be considered a luxury and a full training camp?

— I’ll share that the players’ last day off was January 7, so I had no choice but to give them two days off. This was planned in advance, and I have no moral right to take them away. We will have two practices. Of course, we plan to introduce some changes. But again, for me, the most important thing this team needs is constant effort and aggressiveness on defense. There’s enough talent — they can score a hundred points per game. But understanding the essence of this club and this team, they set the highest goals. If we want to be in Megasport in late spring or early summer, there are certain standards in defense, pick-and-roll execution, and rebounding that are required at the VTB League Finals level. The game in Moscow showed that we need to set these standards as high as possible and fight for them every day, defend them, and establish ourselves as a true contender.

— Not much time has passed since your appointment as acting head coach. At the initial stage, do the players understand all the tasks you set for them?

— First of all, I want to acknowledge and thank them because this is a very challenging situation. For both Russian and foreign players, it requires a certain level of professionalism. Some like this situation, some don’t. But it exists — it has happened. And the fact that they accept it and give the team a chance to work productively and try to follow a new path — I appreciate that. I think it’s a good start and a sign of professionalism.