Paternostro has one eye on busy off season

by UK American Sports Fans

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Following a record-breaking 2011/12 BBL campaign, Head Coach of the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, Rob Paternostro, will take some well earned time away from the game and the 24/7 life he was leading during the regular and post season.

The only thing is, if you ask Coach Paternosto what his interpretation of ‘time away’ is, it is likely to differ greatly from your own…

“I’m always recruiting, it’s a 12 month process for me,” said the ’round-the-clock’ Coach with the best regular season winning record in Riders history.

“The only way to do this job successfully is to never turn that off. Whether it’s May, whether it’s January, whatever time of year, I’m always paying attention.

“Recruiting, especially here for us, is a job that that you’re paying attention to all year long . The job of evaluating players is an ongoing process.”

That the Riders finished second in the league and reached the BBL Play-off Final with a team constructed less than a year ago, is a testament to not only Paternostro’s on-court coaching skills but also his ability to identify and recruit the best unknown players.

But to praise the fourth year Head Coach for only his scouting of unknown talent is to do him a disservice. Paternostro worked hard to bring back former Riders favourite Bradd Wierzbicki and with GM Russell Levenston’s diligent work, secured the signing of GB Captain Drew Sullivan for the season, two players who were well known in the BBL and who both contributed fantastic personal seasons.

So with all the talent that the Riders signed prior to the 2011 season and knowing how close they came to winning their first silverware since 2000/1, it is entirely understandable that the desire to bring back the players who helped get the franchise to within touching distance of a trophy, is so great.

“We will speak to them (the players) about that,” said Paternostro. “We’ll talk to all the guys, talk about the future for everyone – whether it be here or where it is.”

“This group of guys that we’ve had this year and the talent and success that we’ve had; it’s pretty easy to see why we’d welcome a lot of this group back.

“But until all the information is given out on what our situation is next season, it’s hard to make decisions because a lot goes into it that really doesn’t have a lot to do with on the basketball court.”

For the Riders to retain the 2011 squad in it’s entirety is an enormous ask, particularly when the squad contains high profile players such as the current Great Britain captain, a rookie point guard who exploded in the play-offs and a versatile small forward who won so many individual awards that he had to ship them home because they wouldn’t all fit in his suitcase.

Paternostro is all to aware of the value of a settled squad though, a point rammed home as the Riders watched the Newcastle Eagles celebrate a clean sweep of all domestic competitions this year, something the Eagles achieved with a team containing the same core players as in 2004/5.

“I really admire what they (Newcastle) have done there in keeping them together. First of all the talent that they’ve assembled. It starts with the coach who should have got MVP votes for how he played in the league. It all starts with him. What he does as a coach is tremendous. Those guys want to come back.

That’s down to Fab and down to the organisation. They want to come back. It’s something that as a coach you would love, because he knows each year those guys and he knows what they’re going to bring him throughout the season…big games and the championship games.”

As important as it is to re-sign a number of last years team in order to give the franchise the best shot possible at success for the 2012 campaign, surely the most pressing matter for the club is to ensure that the mastermind behind three 21+ winning seasons in only four years, highest ever finish in franchise history, first final appearance since 2005/6, best defence in the league (regular and post season) and two rookies who made up the top 5 in MVP voting, returns.

“It’s important to find out where we’re at, sitting down with the board of the Riders and finding out what the plan is and how are we all going to move forward and what approach we’re all going to take,” said Paternostro. “And that’s usually done soon.”