John Patrick is one of the most respected personalities of easyCredit-BBL. He talked to SPOX about his special way of playing, which also has something to do with Gary Payton, about the whole field press and about his scouting recipe. On Tuesday his MHP giants Ludwigsburg will play against medi bayreuth in the Champions League quarter-finals (8 pm at LIVESTREAM FOR FREE on SPOX). The second leg and all other matches of the German teams will be played live and exclusively on DAZN.
SPOX: Mr. Patrick, after defeating Oldenburg in the round of 16, another German opponent awaits Bayreuth in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Do you sometimes confuse the competitions?
John Patrick: It’s a bit strange and a pity on the one hand, because it would be good for the league to be able to send two teams into the final four. Because we have presented ourselves very strongly so far. On the other hand, such a duel attracts attention, of course, because it’s not everyday.
SPOX: They are in the Champions League with the giants for the second time in a row – which is only taking place for the second time. What impressions do you have of the not undisputed competition?
Patrick: I must admit I’m really impressed by the level of the Champions League. I see them at eye level with the EuroCup. And there are teams from Spain, Italy and Turkey that have defeated Euroleague participants in their national leagues – and clearly so. That’s why I’m proud that with us and Bayreuth two teams made it to the last eight. Of course, it would have been nicer if the constellation would have allowed two German teams to be sent to the Final Four. But it is what it is.
SPOX: The fact that this is even being discussed speaks in favour of a good development of the Bundesliga. You have been active as a coach in Germany since 2003 – with a short interruption. What has happened since then?
Patrick: I can look back even further: I was on the road in Germany for the first time in 1990, at that time as a selection player of the Pac-10 Conference from the NCAA. Among others, we had games against Bayer Leverkusen, which was coached by Dirk Bauermann at that time. And also in the years that followed I was often in Germany, for example for Nike projects and to visit my wife before I became a coach in the 2000s.
SPOX: Do the structures and the level still have any similarities to the time of that time?
Patrick: Hardly. Everything has developed extremely quickly. We were very surprised at the game back in 1990 how relaxed everything went, even though Leverkusen were the best team in the country at the time. When I came back a few years later, there were already some German-Americans and Americans who dominated the league and also raised the level – even if there were usually only two per team. In the past ten years there was the next big leap: The league has become faster, more athletic. And of course it has been completely professionalized. Overall, we are on a very good path – you can see that teams from midfield can keep up well in the international leagues, sometimes better than the midfield teams from Italy or France.
SPOX: And how do you personally like the trend towards fast basketball, be it pace and space or small ball, which is currently shaping many NBA teams?
Patrick: I am a very big fan of it! Already in high school I played for teams that were successful with it. Not as an imaginary system, but because the team composition was just like that. However, we have mostly focused on the defense, while in the NBA the offensive and sometimes also entertainment are the focus of such constellations. Basically, it seems to be time to design the line-up and tactics according to speed and threesomes, whereas in the past it was often set up according to size. A player’s versatility is also crucial.
SPOX: You’ve already mentioned your active time as a college player: you were Stanford University’s point guard in the late 80’s and early 90’s. You once said about the time there that your playing style was “like art. What did you mean by that?
Patrick: We were a very semi-field-oriented team with Stanford back then, but they played in a very athletic and fast conference[Pac-10, now Pac-12 – Note. d. Red.]. For example, I was the only Starting Point Guard from the Conference who didn’t make it into the NBA. I was on the verge of…
SPOX: … among other things, there was a tryout at the Warriors, is that true?
Patrick: Yes, I had some free agent tryouts, but it wasn’t enough for various reasons. I just wasn’t good enough. But from my four years at Stanford College, four players from my team made it into the NBA, from UCLA or Arizona it was about 15. But we defeated these teams, with a very clear style in the semi-field, where we had to think of solutions. We had a clear plan and concept that suited our players.
SPOX: So that didn’t have much to do with the faster style of today.
Patrick: No, not at all. But it was very successful, although I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy it much as a point guard. But that wasn’t the point. After my college years, I played under coaches in Japan, for example, who practiced a faster and smaller game with full field defense. I personally liked this more, because it requires more creativity from the players and also gives them more freedom. Our game today is not a run and gun either.
SPOX: At 30 they became coaches in Japan. Which style did you first adopt?
Patrick: We have taken up the fast game. We were a small team with a small budget and in my opinion this is the best way to be successful. And we were for three years, even though we were only a small fish in the league. And also later in Germany, for the first time near Göttingen in the second league, it worked, although we partly played with volunteers. We ended up in the top half of the table without Americans, that would be unthinkable today.
Page 1: John Patrick on the Champions League, the development of the BBL and Small Ball
Page 2: John Patrick about Gary Payton, “40 Minutes of Hell” and his special scouting