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By Steven J. Koek, Suns.com
Posted: Sept. 28, 2006
For Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, the Suns’ journey to Italy and Germany for training camp will be more than just a trip to Europe to prepare for the 2006-07 season. It will be a return to his professional basketball roots, where he became an Italian League legend as both a player and a coach.
Voted the top point guard in Italian basketball history, D'Antoni sat down with Suns.com to talk about the sojourn overseas, his memories of the 21 years he spent abroad and his expectations for the upcoming campaign.
Suns.com: How excited are you about going back to Italy?
Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni: I’m really excited for a lot of reasons. It’s a great time of year. I’m excited to take our team back there and experience some good times with our players , and be able to get some work in. There are a lot positives being with them for a long training camp. We can really bond together and have a good time doing it.
Suns.com: When was the last time you were back in Italy?
D'Antoni: I went back a couple of times. I haven’t done anything in the sense of playing a game or making public appearances. I went back to scout one time, but that’s about it. It’s been a while.
Suns.com: What do you miss most from your time there?
D'Antoni: The friendships, the way the teams bond together over there. It’s a little bit of a different atmosphere. After the games, you always eat together. We spent a lot of time together and that’s probably the best part of it.
Suns.com: I thought you were going to say the food.
D'Antoni: The food you miss, but you can always find Italian food here in town. We eat Italian food at home, so we’re okay there (laughs).
Suns.com: I recently saw a tape of you from your Italy days and was very impressed with your Italian, although I didn’t understand a word of it, of course. How often do you use your Italian and will you need a refresher course before you go?
D'Antoni: The problem was that Italians didn’t understand it either because I do have a twang (laughs). I can impress you, but I probably didn’t impress too many Italians.
Having enjoyed all the years I was there, once you learn the language it’s like living anywhere else. It makes for a great experience.
Suns.com: What are your favorite memories of your time in Italy? Are your memories more from your playing days or coaching days?
D'Antoni: Probably meeting my wife. You don’t want me to get killed by not saying that. Then, of course, my son was born in Milan. That’s the second-best thing.
But again, it’s relationships. Relationships with the other players, with your coach, with the fans, with the writers. And, of course, winning championships. It all kind of goes hand in hand. The Benettons were great. There were so many good things that came through 21 years of being over there. There are a lot of memories.
Suns.com: How much separation is there in your mind between your playing days and your coaching days?
D'Antoni: A lot. Probably because I only played in Milan and that is one set of memories. Then my coaching in Treviso with the Benettons is the other one. I did coach some in Milan and it was great. It didn’t rival what I did as a player there and I never played in Treviso, so coaching there and winning a couple of championships is what I remember. So, it’s really two different sets of memories.
Suns.com: The intense atmosphere of the European leagues is legendary. What was the rivalry with Bologna like when you were there?
D'Antoni: There was a rivalry between Treviso and Bologna, and another between Milan and Rome. I lost a championship to the Rome team. They beat us and that was big. Then we won one against them and that was disappointing. Milan and Rome would be like L.A. and New York playing against each other, or Chicago and New York.
Then in Treviso they had a good rivalry, but I don’t think it matched the Milan and Rome situation.
Suns.com: How is it different than rivalries here in the states?
D'Antoni: They literally hate the players. It’s not like, “Oh, Michael Jordan’s coming to town, let’s go watch him play.” No. The Chicago Bulls come and “we hate you, and we’re going to yell and scream, and hope you die.” It’s more of a passion and they are fiercely loyal to their team. I don’t care how good you are, that doesn’t even come into the equation.
Suns.com: So you were the enemy in Rome.
D'Antoni: By far. It was awful. But I think it’s okay now. The wounds have healed and they appreciate the good basketball after the fact. But during it? No, they’re tough.
Suns.com: Do you expect any friendly booing when the Suns play in Rome?
D'Antoni: No, not at all. Now, if they see me coach they might (laughs). I don’t know. I hope not. If they do, I’ll understand it, but I doubt it.
Suns.com: What do you think your players will expect and get out of this trip?
D'Antoni: I think we can get a lot of things out of it. Kurt Thomas has never been to Europe, for example. So I’m looking forward for him to see Venice and Rome. I think they’ll be excited about being there and I think it will transfer over. It will be a great bonding experience for the team. We do have some new guys. I don’t see any negatives from it. We might be a little tired coming back, but we’ll have time to rest up before the season starts. I just look at it as a positive both on and off the court.
Suns.com: Are they going to have time to see the sights?
D'Antoni: Oh yeah. I’ll make time because it’s an important part of the trip. We could just go to Tucson otherwise. There’s no point in going to Rome if you’re not going to see Rome. We’re going to set time aside to see these places.
Suns.com: Do you expect them to experience any sort of culture shock?
D'Antoni: The culture shock comes when you're the only guy speaking English and you have no idea what you’re eating or where you are. We’ll be surrounded by people speaking English and everybody helping them out. So there will be no shock. I think there will be an awakening. I think some of things they’ll see will “oh” and “ah” them, but it won’t be a shock.
Venice is a place you just can’t describe and until you see it you can’t believe it. Some of the things in Rome are unbelievable historically. Treviso is a beautiful little town. It’s something they’ve never experienced before.
Suns.com: With all the hours the coaching staff traditionally puts in during training camp, will you be able to enjoy the sights?
D'Antoni: Yes, but I’ve seen all of it. I don’t have to go to Venice; I’ve been there 28,000 times. I’ll go down there one time and have dinner. But, the coaches will do our work and the players will be able to have a good time.
Suns.com: What are your goals for camp and how have those goals been altered by the trip? Are you going to scale down the two-a-day practices to one?
D'Antoni: I don’t believe in two-a-days anyway, but we won’t alter much. We start (camp) four days earlier than anybody else, so we can go one practice a day and take our time. The season is long. We played all the way into June (last season). We don’t have to be totally ready in the middle of October. We’ll be ready on October 31st when we meet the Lakers (in the season opener) and we’re looking forward to it.
Suns.com: Is there anything specific you feel you need to accomplish during that time?
D'Antoni: Not really. Just bond together and get them going, try to get back the same form we had last year and figure out what the new guys can add. We’re basically the same team as last year and looking forward to repeat what we did.
Suns.com: How excited are you for the 2006-07 season?
D'Antoni: Oh, I’m really excited. Every one of those guys are great guys. They’re huggable. We’re in good shape.
Suns.com: Do you feel like the team met its offseason needs?
D'Antoni: I think Marcus Banks will be a huge addition. Getting back Kurt Thomas and Amare Stoudemire obviously bolsters us up front. We’re deeper with them. Jumaine Jones and Sean Marks will help, and the rest of the guys will be a little bit better. We tried to keep everybody together as a core and we did that, then added some pieces to get even better.
Suns.com: What question marks do you see for this team heading into training camp?
D'Antoni: We need to make sure that Amare can come back. If he can come back and be close to what he was, then obviously that’s going to help. If not, then we’ll have to see where we are, but we were a Conference Finals team without him. I would think he’s going to be a positive in some way, we’ll just have to see how much.
