Martin Schiller’s open practice: “We’re very happy with the guys that we have” 0

On Wednesday morning, Zalgiris invited the media to its first open practice before the 2021-2022 season, with head coach Martin Schiller opening up to questions.

The coach who’s heading into his second year with the team evaluated the off-season work put in by the organization, talked about the signing of Emmanuel Mudiay and introduced parts of his new staff as well.

“The first couple days are always about getting to know each other, seeing in which phase everyone is. So far, the guys are in pretty good shape and that’s the most important thing right now. For now, it’s very good, but the reality will see when the games start. We’re very happy with what we’ve put together, now it’s about putting them together and then we’ll see what the result is.”

The Austrian specialist elaborated on the addition of Emmanuel Mudiay and what it took to get him to come to Kaunas.

“It was less about convincing, but more about waiting and evaluating his NBA options, therefore the process was a bit longer. Summer League was a lot later and it just made the process longer. He was very interested and intrigued with the EuroLeague option, but the process was more about waiting for what was going on on the other side.”

The coach also talked about what Zalgiris will look the upcoming season, noting that they are looking to shoot more three-pointers, while hoping to retain the percentages of last season.

“One of the things on the offensive end we looked at was that we wanted to be able to space the floor and shoot the basketball. By signing Cavanaugh and Giffey early, we moved in that direction pretty early in the process. That’s one of the characteristics that I believe we will see. We shot the ball extremely well last year, but we didn’t shoot it a lot. So the goal is to shoot it well again, but shoot it more.”

When talking about the differences between heading into his first and second seasons with the club, Schiller went into it from the practical side of things

“Now I know the city, the arena, the practice facility. Now I have been here and a big part of the group hasn’t been here, so it’s a new dynamic. I know the EuroLeague now, I’ve experienced the LKL. Those pieces of experience give some more stability.”