Coach Maksvytis attended the annual EuroLeague meeting in Barcelona 0

With a focus on improving the on-court action for fans, head coaches from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague held their annual meeting with the Euroleague Basketball officiating department in Barcelona this week. Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Kazys Maksvytis also attended the meeting.

Their day-long session drew upon lessons learned from more than 500 games last season to identify ways in which the fan experience might be enhanced going forward.

Better understanding of rules interpretations and applications between referees and head coaches, who in turn pass on that information to their players, is part of a process every summer that aims to keep games clean at the same time as it makes them more exciting.

Among the agenda items discussed in the meetings were officiating criteria applied in low-post situations and the circumstances surrounding unsportsmanlike foul calls. Another emphasis was off-ball situations with an eye toward enhancing freedom of movement for offensive players.

Being able to offer their direct opinions on how the games should be officiated next season proved a valuable opportunity for all of the head coaches.

Just like the coaches will take conclusions from meetings straight to their players and staffs in training camps, next steps for the officiating department include educating the referees on what was agreed this week at the collective’s annual preseason clinic, to be held in late August.

“The consistent evolution of the game, both how it is played and how it is officiated, explains why basketball is so dynamic and why we strive to get ahead of the curve each summer,” Richard Stokes, Senior Director of Officiating at Euroleague Basketball, said. “Having the coaches contribute like this now, early in the process, is essential to the goal of sharpening what we all do to make the game better season to season.”