The sports director of Lokomotiv Kuban PBC sums up the summer transfer campaign and talks about the team’s upcoming pre-season plans.
- How does the team's preparation go at the moment?
- The club has created all the conditions for the players and coaching staff to work productively during the pre-season. Since the end of July, the coaches have been working individually with the players who are trying to secure a place in the main team. The VTB United League season and the Supercup are starting earlier this season, so our training camps have also started earlier. Everyone has successfully passed the medical check and joined the full training process. The only ones missing are Vladislav Yemchenko and Kirill Temirov – they are in the Russian national team and will join us in Türkiye.
- What will the team do in Türkiye?
- We have quite a lot of new players, so we will continue intensive training to establish strong connections and mutual understanding between the players. Also, as part of the pre-season Gloria Cup, we will play four games with strong opponents: on August 30 we will face Merkezefendi, on September 4 – Uralmash, on the 6th – Türk Telekom and the final game there will be against Tofaş on September 8. After that, we will immediately move to Moscow, where on September 11 we will start in the VTB United League Supercup with a game against CSKA.
- How did you select opponents for the Gloria Cup?
- Our desire was to play against high-class Turkish teams. I think that Tofaş and Türk Telekom, regular participants of the European Cups, are suitable opponents for this preparation period. Later, in the Supercup, we will also face top-tier teams.
- Tell us what qualities attracted the club to the players who arrived this summer?
- We were looking for talented players both in defense and in attack. It is important that they not only fit the required position but also help in developing our alumni. BJ Johnson is well known for his impressive performances for PARMA last season. He is a talented player with a large arsenal in attack. Antonius Cleveland has repeatedly been recognized as the best defensive player in the leagues he played. He has the Euroleague experience, where he was the key player for Maccabi Tel Aviv. We see him as a system-forming player who will play several positions both in attack and defense. Isaiah Whaley, in our opinion, is a prospect with great room for development. In his first season in Europe, he showed himself very good side in the German league, including the games Bayern and Alba. Daniil Kasko is a young Belarusian player with good anthropometry. We hope for his rapid progress in the Lokomotiv system.
- What about Semyon Medvedev, who came back from Irkut?
- He is not a newcomer for us. Semyon is a Loko guy. We always want to see our alumni back home, so we decided to give Medvedev a chance to gain a foothold in the club system. His main advantage is his physical abilities, but he needs to improve his basketball skills and understanding of the game. I am sure that the coaching staff will give everyone a chance to prove themselves in preseason games.
- What can you say about the club president's decision to become the head coach of the main team?
- Andrey Vedishchev made a very bold decision. He is a man with a huge basketball experience. I think that no one understands better than him what Lokomotiv needs. Coaches from outside are always tempted to achieve their goals in the most simple way. Andrey Vladimirovich is ready to take a more difficult path, which will provide the club with a strong basis for many years. To play with our own players is our long-term strategy.
- Who will be his first assistant?
- Roman Semerninov. In the past years in the main team, he has earned the right to become Andrey Vedishchev's first assistant this season.
- Two new specialists were invited to the coaching staff. Tell us about them.
- We have been following Serbian coach Janko Pejčić for many years. He is a specialist who understands basketball very well, and has a great experience working with young people. Artyom Komogortsev worked in the Lokomotiv system for many years, gained experience as the head coach of a Superliga team, and last year he led Zenit youth team to gold in the VTB United Youth League. This is an excellent result that we noted. Our task is to develop not only players, but also young coaches.
- Recently, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell stated that Lokomotiv-Kuban allegedly said him goodbye in an inappropriate way via text message. Can you comment on these words of his?
- We always part ways with players, following all the standards for terminating contracts. We do our utmost to present such news with full respect for the player's input to the club. We notified DeVaughn and his agent privately and only then sent an official letter. According to the terms of the contract, the club had an option to terminate the cooperation. Once again, I would like to thank Akoon-Purcell for his years at Lokomotiv Kuban and wish him further success!
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