Mike Taylor: Lights and shadows of Polish basket (MW Podcast #49)

Some people need to be more authoritarian, some people need to be more dictator-like in the way they lead, but I'm a guy that builds those connections well, communicates well and people know. I felt like Adam had lost trust in what we were trying to do in terms of the team and the situation and there was no one, not one person on that staff or on that team that was doing anything against him. Ale miał ten problem z zaufaniem, że są ludzie, wiesz, teorię konspiracji, pracują nad nim tutaj, pracują nad nim tam, ten z tym, ten z tym. Nie. Mateusz Winiarczyk, Mateusz Winiarczyk

Hello coach, big thanks for joining my podcast. It's a great pleasure that you find the time to talk and yeah, I'm glad, looking forward to hear your stories. Yeah, really appreciate you having me on Michał and look forward to telling some Polish national team stories and reflecting a little bit on a great time. First, let's start with things that are happening right now. I mean your work in Canada, in Winnipeg. Powiedz mi, jak to jest pracować w Kanadzie, ponieważ dla zwykłego fana basketu kanadyjskiego jest to jak Raptor w Toronto. Wiele ludzi nawet nie wie o kanadyjskim basketu, więc powiedz mi jak to jest pracować w Kanadzie i jak byś opisał poziom i styl ligy kanadyjskiej.

Yeah, the CEBL, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, which this is my fourth summer in it. It's a summer league, a summer professional league. It's a unique timeframe and it's held at this time because of the weather in Canada and the fact that basketball does not want to go kind of head to head with ice hockey. It's a really great league. It's into its seventh year now. I think there's 30 plus players who have NBA connection, like either played in the CBL, gone to the NBA. So it's rising, it's developing. I love it. It's a lot of fun. You know, it's similar to the Canadian Football League, where you have five teams in the East and five teams in the West and it's all over Canada.

So it's a similar league like, let's say, the NBA or G League. It's more similar to the G League with the talent level. But the organizations are first class. Our organization here in Winnipeg, the owner, David Asper, is a first class guy. Runs the organization in a great way. I have tremendous support, great coaching staff. The facilities are fantastic. We play in the Canada Life Centre, which is the home for the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL. Great practice facility at Sport for Life here in Winnipeg. For me, it's kind of like my NBA. As a general manager and head coach, I'm able to put together a roster. I'm able to organize a lot of the systems and tactics.

I absolutely love it. It's so much fun. I've had four great years in the league. This is my third year in Winnipeg and it's really been a lot of fun. Kanada Basketball traditionally has been only about the Toronto Raptors, but I think you look at all of the players that are in the NBA and you know, there's even been some really good Canadian players that have played recently in the Polish League. Teams are more and more recruiting Canadian players, basketball is rising in the nation and I'm really enjoying my experience here over the last four summers. Do you see the progress when it comes to the popularity of basketball in Canada? Kanadyjski zawodnik NBA, Szeik Józef Aleksander. Naszynalna drużyna też robi świetną pracę.

Zastanawiałem się, czy widzicie rozwój kanadyjskiego basketu. Nie tylko na poziomie seniora, ale również na poziomie juniora. Yeah, and I think that, you know, our league has a lot to do with that, but traditionally to play ice hockey, it's an expensive sport. You know, you have to pay for a lot of equipment, there's paying for rink time, and I think that over the years... Young kids have said, oh, I'd like to play hockey, but maybe I don't have enough money. Basketball in comparison is much less expensive. It's easier access. And I think that as we've seen in the major city areas, the Toronto, Hamilton, that whole area in southern Ontario, the western area of Vancouver, I think basketball has really taken off and we see some great players coming out of these areas.

So I think it's a matter of finance, but I also think that it's the culture now, like basketball is something important in the country. Mimo to, że to jest wciąż świetny kraj piłki, kraj piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka z piłki z jazdy, piłka Basketball in general has a lot more participation and a lot more popularity than we've seen in the past here in Canada. When I was preparing for this interview, I look at your career, the fact, okay, you are American, you grew up in America, you took first steps as a coach, assistant coach in America, but a lot of your coaching career has been made in Europe.

I to było takie, że chcę tam być na jeden rok, ale jednym z głównych punktów jest to, żeby tam iść i zdobyć doświadczenie jako przewodniczący. No dobrze, poszedłem do III Dywizji Niemczech, Chemnitz, na najniższym poziomie, ale mam szansę być przewodniczącym przewodniczącym. Wiesz, na tych najniższych poziomach musisz robić dużo, więc miałem doświadczenie, robiąc różne rzeczy, których może na wyższym poziomie trenerzy nie będą robili. So we ended up winning our league that year, won the championship and always trying to find new opportunities. I went back to the USA and was an assistant for the Dodge City Legend for Cliff Levingston, the former Chicago Bulls player, and had a really good experience in the old United States Basketball League. It was like the CBL Summer League.

And from that time, you know, it was like, OK, what's next? I had the opportunity to go to London and coach the Leopards. Mieliśmy bardzo dobre doświadczenie tam. Nie byliśmy zbyt dobrymi. Zabierali nas za późno. Byliśmy gotowi do wygrania. Ale właściciel mówił, że daje nam jeszcze raz. Mój przyjaciel pomógł mi wytrzymać pracę. Kościłem w ligie w tym samym czasie z Chrisem Finchem, który teraz oczywiście robi świetne rzeczy w Minnesota Timberwolves. Nick Nurse, oczywiście z Raptorami, a teraz Sixers. Byli świetni trenerzy w ligie. Wiecie, w zasadzie wielu ludzi mówi, że musisz wygrać najpierw, żeby nauczyć się jak naprawdę wygrać. Myślę, że jest dużo do mówienia na ten temat. Wygraliśmy z play-offów na ostatni dzień regularnego sezonu, a potem kilka dni później drużyna zniszczyła się finansowo.

And I'm so thankful that I came up in Europe because coaching in Germany Michał Winiarczyk, MW Basketball Team KoszKadra I myślę, że przygotowanie do tych wszystkich rzeczy dało mi wspaniałą podstawę i wspaniałą doświadczalność w młodym wieku. Zawsze patrzyłem na siebie jako na kogoś, kto kocha basket, kocha trenowanie i próbuje zbudować najlepsze koncepcje kreatywnie w dobrym systemie, aby pomóc drużynie wygrać.

I I'm very thankful that you know I've made friends for life at all the stops all over the world so it's it's been a it's been great and you know uh hopefully we're putting some of those things into action here in winnipeg and do you remember your first first biggest Co było największą szoką, jeśli chodzi o trening w Europie? Wiemy, że w Stanach Zjednoczonych praktyki basketowe są troszkę inaczej. Jakie były największe szoky, największe wyzwania? Oh, I don't know about challenge. I think that there was a culture shock. You know, you're talking about the former Eastern Europe, Eastern Germany.

You know, there wasn't many people who spoke a lot of English at the time. You know, I've coached 11 years in Germany and I've picked up the German language. So, you know, my wife, I met her there and obviously been able to speak German. But at that time I did not know German. And it was really, that was the biggest challenge, I think. Wielkie dzięki i do zobaczenia! Names mentioned in Polish. Names mentioned in Polish. Names mentioned in Polish.

You know, I was brought in to try to help the team move up to the first league. And it took us a couple of years to do it, but in the process we had some great memories, great moments. Dr. Tomasz Stoll, który jest nadal głównym człowiekiem w tym całym świecie. Zabrał mnie i mieliśmy świetną relację w tym świecie przez mój czas. Współpracował z nami niesamowicie i mogliśmy zbudować świetny roster. We finished the first year, I think we were 26 and 4. I think we had great runs. We lost to our rival Tubingen in two games.

There were three overtimes and the difference in those games were five points. And that was the difference of us moving up or not. So the first year was a really fun season. We had a team that played up-tempo basketball. Guys had, we had a short bench, but guys really got along. We had great team chemistry. And I loved the old Sports Centrum Kuburg. It was the old school Bundesliga. You know, it was like, it was nothing like the Ratiopharm Arena. Ale była świetna kultura basketu w mieście. Ludzie uwielbiali go. Kolejna drużyna była w Bundesliga, więc była tradycja. I w tym roku zaczęliśmy świetnie, ale przeszliśmy. W następnym roku mieliśmy świetne oczekiwania i wyłożyliśmy drużynę. Czuliłem, że mamy świetny rozszerz, ale chemia nie była ta sama.

Zostaliśmy na drodze do Nuremberga w zeszłym sezonie. I dając Nurembergowi kredyt, oni nas wygrali w tym roku. Mieliśmy naprawdę dobrych zawodników. Juliusz Jenkins był świetnym zawodnikiem. So the first season we were 26 and 4. That year we were 24 and 6. We also had a great season, but it wasn't good enough because we didn't move up. We didn't win the league. So the next year was kind of an interesting summer. We signed Jeff Gibbs, who was playing at Ehingen the year before. His wife, April, had gone to school with a girl that I knew from IUP and she was like, hey, get in touch with Jeff. So we talked with Jeff and we brought him in. Jeff was a six foot two power forward who dominated the glass.

He was like a mini Charles Barkley. Wielka długość w rękach. Był bardzo fizyczny, był starym futbolistą. Podpisał chłopaków i jego atletyczność była czymś wyjątkowym. Miał tylko nackę do reboundu. Mieliśmy też Jonathan Levy, który był świetnym piłkarzem. Mieliśmy kilka innych głównych niemieckich graczy do tego drużyny. We finished the season 29 and 1. We dominated the second league. You know, great memories with that team, so much fun with those guys. And at the time, you know, we kept that core together. And I'm really proud of that transition going from the second league to the first league. You know, the first year with that same team, with one or two key additions, a blank order and a five, you know, we finished 16 and 18, the next year we finished 16 and 18, and finally that core, the third year in the Bundesliga.

Names mentioned in Polish Basketball Team Koszuchowski Basketball Team At that point, you know, we had brought in Drew Joyce, you know, of LeBron James. He played also in Poland later. Yes. So Drew was a great, he was our floor general. We had Romeo Travis as well. You know, Jeff Gibbs was a key for us. Sean Finn at the center. You know, it was a really fun team to be a part of and fun team to work with. Michał Winiarczyk, Mike Taylor, Poland, Koszuchowski Basketball Team Koszuchowski Basketball Team Koszuchowski Basketball Team

Names mentioned in Polish Basketball Team Our plan is to change our idea, identity. We're going to be a team that promotes the development of young German players. And the goal was to have two really key guys. And one was Robin Benzing, who at the time was playing with the German national team, even though he was with Second League Langen.

Wyglądało, że inwestowanie było dla nich świetne. After 2010-2011 season, my contract was not renewed in Ulm. That's when I came back to the G League and went through there. My eight years in Ulm were... I have so many wonderful memories. The organization developed and grew and they wouldn't be where they are now without that key foundation face. So obviously when I was with Poland and we had the opportunity to bring Jeremy in and then Igor was there with him, obviously we appreciate the cooperation from Ulm and having those guys be a part of

The way the organization is developed and built the reputation is one of the top developmental places. It's like a destination for young players in Europe. It's really a credit to those guys and it's really a fantastic thing. I remember those foundation years well. A lot of great memories, a lot of great friends for life. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone. Michał Winiarczyk, MW Podcast 49.

Names mentioned! Let's say stagnated, they've stalled and other people have passed them by, but Ulm is one of those who, you know, have gone from the small market and they've evolved and developed and grown into that type of organization that competes really well, competes internationally and really does a great job developing the young players. Jak było pracować w G-League? Pracowałeś w Vipers jako asystent, później w Maine jako główny trener w Celtics.

He was helping me with the Canton Charge. Nick Nurse had left the Iowa Energy for the RGB Vipers, but Nick, I knew him from, let's say, the British Basketball League time, when he coached Brighton Bears and I was the London Leopards coach. Nick was really, really helpful to me. He got me involved as a finalist for the Iowa Energy job and he held the assistant spot at RGV for me. Said, hey, go for all these head jobs. If you don't get it, come coach here. And Will Voigt was the same way. He's like, hey, if everything doesn't work out, come to Bakersfield. So I had some really good friends who were helping me at the time. I ended up in RGV as an assistant for Nick Nurse and I learned so much that year.

The Rocketball philosophy, you know, at that time it was really up tempo and you know, they were not shooting mid-range shots. It was the type of shot creation they were working on and the pace of offense. So it was a really great learning experience. And then, you know, Nick. Names mentioned in Polish Basketball Team KoszKadra, Niestety, w następnym sezonie Celtics zabrali Red Claws.

So during the Celtics time with Doc and his staff, I spent a lot of time asking questions, Mike Longobardi, veteran coaches who had run the defenses. And those coaches really helped me so much. And they put together, they helped me put together You know the concepts that would become our Polish national team defense and you know over the next several years a lot of the things that we did you know were born from those conversations. But Doc was so supportive of me, very good to me. Just to be around guys like Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo. When Rondo was coming back from his knee injury, I ran the practice and he was first class. We had our team go down because the Celtics were on the road.

Rondo needed to test his knee out and I showed him the practice plan like, hey, what do you want to do? So he pointed out five or six things he wanted to do, took a couple of drills off. I wydarzyło się, że to był świetny trening dla niego, został oczywisty na grę i wrócił. Ale co ludzie nie zauważyli, Rondo zapłacił na naszą całą drużynę, żeby iść na jedną z najlepszych sklepów w Bostonie. Potem otrzymaliśmy niektóre plany na mecz Celtics w tej nocy. Dla zawodników, którzy byli w grze, w D-League, w G-League, It was a really, really great look from Rondo. It was really cool. I became a big fan that night and it was really great.