Head Coach Vadim Kuramshin: “Our Goal is to Reach the Playoffs”
Sumgayit Basketball Team’s head coach, Vadim Kuramshin, shared his thoughts on the team’s objectives in an interview with the club’s press service.
“When I Took Over, the Team Was at the Bottom of Group B”
Kuramshin reflected on his appointment as head coach during the season:
“First of all, I would like to thank the club management for their trust in me. When I took over, the team was at the bottom of Group B, but now we are in the middle of the standings. The points we have accumulated and the victories we have achieved prove that we are a good team. After being appointed head coach, I replaced all the foreign players. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, I couldn’t complete the transfer operations as planned. Currently, I have only four foreign players, but if we had managed to bring in a fifth, we could have competed for first place in the group.”
“We Have a Stronger Squad Compared to Last Season”
Comparing the current team to last season, the experienced coach stated that the squad is now stronger:
“This team leaves a better impression. I believe our current squad is stronger. However, I would have liked to see Roderick Smith from last season in our lineup. He was one of the standout players in the championship. Unfortunately, he didn’t return here and decided to continue his career in Mexico.”
“We Are One of the League’s Highest-Scoring Teams, But We Struggle Defensively”
Kuramshin emphasized that while Sumgayit is one of the highest-scoring teams in the Azerbaijan Basketball League, they still face defensive challenges:
“We manage to score high points in our matches, but we also want to play solid defense. We have some issues in that area, and we know the reasons behind them. The biggest challenge is the difficulties we face in rotating our foreign players. Our goal is to reach the playoffs, and it doesn’t really matter which team we face there. The important thing is to win and achieve our objective.”
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