David Blatt arrived on Friday (15/02) afternoon in Thessaloniki and was welcomed by a delegation of Aris fans. The renowned American-Israeli coach talked about the reasons which made him sign for Aris and spoke highly of his new team.
“Last summer I didn’t find a club which would fulfill my expectations and after the Eurobasket I was thinking that I wouldn’t work for a club during this season. The decision to come to Aris was unusual for me, because I had never before signed for a club in the middle of the season. However, Aris offered me the ideal situation at the right moment, just when I felt ready to return to the court again. Aris is a club with great ambition, consistency and a big tradition. It has all the things which are needed in order to achieve something good. I’m happy to be here”, mr. Blatt said and added:
“I’m thankful to the club’s administration for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to start working in order to make a team in line with Aris’s tradition. I’ve never hidden my love for Greece and the good feeling I have when I’m here, both in terms of passion for sport and for basketball and the fact that this country is close to my heart for different reasons”.
The acclaimed coach also said that “it’s an honor for me to become a member of Aris family and join the huge tradition of this club. I believe that the only way to show my appreciation is to work hard and achieve the kind of goals which will make Aris fans proud of the team. That’s both in terms of how we play and behave as a team, but also in terms of what we accomplish. Between the two things there’s distance and there’s work to be done before we can do it in the right way. That right way will lead us to great things”.
David Blatt also commented positively on the abilities of his new team, which he had the opportunity to watch last Tuesday (12/01), in the match against Hapoel Jerusalem, in Israel. “I did see the game while I was in Tel Aviv. Obviously Aris played a great game. I hope that we shoot that well in every game! I know that it’s not possible, but there’s a lot of things that you can do consistently in basketball, to help the team win and the club be successful. I hope we have that kind of performance in the league as well”, he said.
The American-Israeli coach also made clear that “I’m coming to a good team. I’m not coming to a bad team, this is a good team. I think that it’s a very talented team, I think that there’s depth and quality in different positions. I know that the team has been coached, because I know Fotis Katsikaris, he went to St. Petersburg when I left so I know that he does good work. Obviously right know the record in the league is not what Aris people and fans expect. That’s something we have to improve”.
