What is Dimitris Itoudis’s secret?

In the news made by Ajansspor, it has been determined that success is domination in the third quarters. Erman Kunter and Yiğiter Uluğ were asked about Itoudis’s secret.

Under the management of coach Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahçe Beko started the season in fifth gear both in Turkey and Europe. Especially in the Euroleague, the secret of the success of the yellow-dark blue team, who won 9 out of 10 matches, as no one expected, is being wondered.

He hits his fist in the 3rd period

Looking at Fenerbahce Beko’s matches this season, its dominance in the third quarters stands out. Yellow and navy blue team lost the 3rd period in the match against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Istanbul and Barcelona, ​​where they were defeated 81-80. The Barcelona match is Fenerbahce’s only defeat in both Turkey and Europe.

64 points difference in the third quarter

Leader Fenerbahce Beko sent 229 points to the opponent’s basket in the third quarter of the first 10 games, while only 165 points in the basket. In other words, he outdid his opponents by 64 points.

Fenerbahçe’s 3rd quarter scorecard in Euroleague

The results of Fenerbahçe in the 3rd quarter under the management of Greek Coach Itoudis are as follows…

Itoudis also did it in CSKA Moscow

Itoudis, who coached CSKA Moscow before coming to Fenerbahce Beko, had an edge over his opponents in the Russian team in the 3rd periods. CSKA Moscow was expelled from the Euroleage last season due to the Russia-Ukraine war. In the 2020-21 season, CSKA under the management of Itoudis managed to finish the third quarter ahead in 25 of the 34-game regular season. CSKA finished the regular season in 2nd place with 24 wins that year.

What is Itoudis doing at halftime?

This big difference in the 3rd periods raises the question of what the 52-year-old Greek coach Dimitris Itoudis was doing in the locker room at halftime. The leading names of basketball Erman Kunter and Yiğiter Uluğ solve the mystery of Itoudis.

Analysis success according to Erman Kunter

According to Erman Kunter, who plays in the National Basketball Team as well as many teams in Turkey and France, the analysis success of his team is behind Itoudis’s third period domination.

“No matter what you say, concentration breaks down”

“It is difficult to manage the players at halftime,” said Kunter. You need to briefly touch on the essence of the mistakes at halftime.”

“Point shooting”

According to Erman Kunter, Itoudis and his team are shooting at halftime. Kunter says, “I think Itoudis and his team analyze very well. They evaluate the shortcomings in the first half very well and point at halftime. I think that’s the point to focus on. Rather than motivation, the main thing is to be able to make pinpoint decisions during the halftime.”

“Success of staff engineering”

Erman Kunter thinks that another factor underlying Fenerbahçe Beko’s success is staff engineering. The veteran basketball person said, “The style of players Itoudis recruited was in keeping with his playing philosophy. “The teams that did this at the beginning of the season were successful, while those that didn’t were unsuccessful for the time being,” he says.

“There will be a fall, but…”

Saying, “It is not an easy task to be on the same line from the 1st game to the 34th game of a season. It is a long season, so there will always be ups and downs,” said Kunter, noting the experience of Itoudis: “The important thing is how quickly you recover. Fenerbahce is good. “He’s got a rhythm. The longer he keeps it up, the more he will open the gap with the teams behind.”

“One day someone comes out, another day another”

According to Erman Kunter, Fenerbahce’s biggest advantage is that it can get huge contributions from different players. Says Kunter: “One day it’s someone coming out, the next day it’s another. A few key pieces and all the other pieces in the puzzle vary.”

Yiğiter Uluğ: Itoudis is known for analyzing competitors

Journalist Yiğiter Uluğ draws attention to the success of Greek Coach Itoudis in analysis. Uluğ said, “Dimitris Itoudis has been the assistant of Obradovic in Panathinaikos for many years and has contributed greatly to his success. He started his head coaching career at Banvit in our country. Bandırmians remember him as ‘a hardworking coach who came to the gym before and came out after everyone else’. “He’s always been known for watching and analyzing rivals at length,” he says.

“He reads his opponent well at halftime”

Uluğ continues his speech as follows: “Of course, now that he is a senior coach in the Euroleague, he shares the tasks of monitoring and analyzing the opponents among his assistants. However, as it can be understood from the fact that his team put a clear emphasis on the game in the third quarters, he can read the opponent well and take precautions at halftime. Itoudis is a coach who can transfer these changes to his players.”

“Fiery motivational speeches, not tweaks”

On Uluğ’s dominance of Itoudis in the third quarters, he said, “I don’t think the underlying factor in the effective play in the third quarters is the fiery motivational speeches in the locker room… The main reason is that all the players in the team understand what the coach wants and how he will change the game with the fine tuning he makes at halftime… ” says.

“Fenerbahce Beko became the coach team

Uluğ also draws attention to the fact that Fenerbahçe Beko has turned into a ‘coach team’. Uluğ says: “The biggest advantage of Itoudis at this point is that he mostly formed the squad himself… The two coaches who came to Fenerbahçe after Obradovic, Kokoshkov and Djordjevic, did not have this chance.”

“He chose players with basketball intelligence”

Uluğ states that Itoudis chose players with basketball intelligence who were suitable for the game system and could reflect the details he wanted on the field: “Thus, he dominated his team in a short time and turned Fenerbahçe Beko into a ‘coach team’.”