The press conference of the Guerri Napoli's new Head Coach, Jasmin Repeša, was set this afternoon in the ALCOTT Arena Press Room. General Manager James Laughlin, Managing Director of Underdog Global Partners Rosario Procino, and Sporting Director Alessandro Di Fede were also present.
Coach Jasmin Repeša:
"It's a pleasure to be here. Now, all together, we need to find the right path for our team, which isn't in the position we'd like to be in right now. Arriving here with five games left in the season is a new situation in my career. Obviously, it's not something I like, but the club has decided to take urgent action. I have fond memories of Napoli from all the past matches, but now we need to focus on what lies ahead. I want to thank Coach Magro for the work he's done. I found the situation very organized, but at the same time, I must say I found the team a bit disheartened, probably due to many changes recently. Now I have to find a new balance to reform the group. Everyone must contribute; there has to be a sense of urgency, which is required by the current situation. Bringing so many players into a team is never easy, especially when it comes to important athletes. Everyone must understand that they have to sacrifice themselves to achieve the goal, focusing only on the team's success, not their individual success. It's the first thing I asked to the team. I've joined an important project. I want to thank everyone because I've seen great willingness to do their best. Napoli is a team that wants to grow. I believe I can help it with my experience. Everyone speaks good of this team, and I'm very happy to be here. Our starting point must be to give everything in the 40 minutes of the match. I've had two good training sessions with the team and I've seen great commitment. I'm optimistic. We have a very important match against Treviso, who have found balance, are fighting, and have won after many defeats. We must do the same, playing the games to the best of our ability. I think we're a good team made up of excellent guys who have lost some confidence, and I want to help them regain it. I'm also going through a new situation, and I see some similar with my first experience in Italy, with Fortitudo, in 2003, when I joined late in the season and we managed to reach the championship final. Right now, the game against Treviso is crucial; we need to win it to look to the future. Team, staff, management, and all the fans, we must all be together to win the game. Now we need to keep our hearts on the ground. Mitrou-Long trained well, like everyone else, and I've found a great attitude from him too. We're starting from the basics to allow all the players to perform at their best. I've spoken to all of them; we'll need to be aggressive, run to find easy baskets. This is the path forward. I'm used to playing these types of games, I have a lot of experience, and these are challenges I enjoy. I'm proud of the growth Totè has made, while I was at Pesaro. He's become a great player, but he needs to be hungrier. Both he and Caruso have great potential; they need to do the dirty work. Without them, it's difficult to be successful."