It was 6:45 a.m. when Lassi Tuovin the transportation of the basketball team to the Utah Jazz training center left. The Finnish coach, who came to the NBA team’s summer league for less than a month, wondered why he had to start training so early.
When Tuovi arrived at the hall, he noticed that he was by no means the first in the hall. Everything else. The video coaches were already processing the previous day’s videos and the other coaches also arrived at the same time. The players arrived for breakfast after the coaches.
This was an eye-opening moment for the head coach of the Finnish national team.
– When you work at the top, you don’t compromise or watch the clock. The whole time is invested in getting all the power out. Sometimes we think too much about what time it is and whether we can do something, Tuovi stated.
For Tuo, being part of Jazz’s coaching group was quite instructive. He got to see, do a little, but above all to learn. Basketball has strong traditions and a different culture in the United States.
– Yes, you could write in the notebook, he smiled.
Lauri Markkanen constantly interested his colleagues
During the summer season, NBA clubs focus on testing and developing potential players. Tuov’s team won four matches and lost one in the summer league. The result was satisfactory, but above all, Tuovi was satisfied with things outside the results.
The summer league team was a short project, but a professional machinery revolves around it. There was staff and coaching, and everyone had their own role.
– It was polished to perfection as can be. Seeing the work ethic in an NBA club every day was most impressive.
Tuovi enjoyed the discussions with his colleagues a lot. Often they sided Lauri from Markka. The others were interested in hearing how the national team coaching saw Markkanen’s situation and how he has developed and played in the last year. On the other hand, the game itself was a common interest and topic of conversation for the coaches.
– My nature is such that I am curious to learn. It’s important in life, Tuovi said and considered the conversation with the nutrition coach, for example, instructive
– The way they take care of top athletes is so much ahead of others. Athletes are looked after from breakfast, from that first smoothie, care is taken that they have the opportunity to train well.
According to Tuov, coaches usually discuss how they see the player. What kind of person is the player, why is he successful on the field, what kind of team does he have around him and how is he coached.
When a coach finds the right combination of players who manage to perform at their peak and get the maximum out of themselves, it is worth mirroring that to others.
– Then you discover how to create those situations. We spent a lot of time with the coaches analyzing the games. I thought it was important to see how they did it, because everyone has their own template.
Many new ideas for Susijeng’s activities
Tuovi said before the summer league that he is very interested in analysis and the use of data. He reminded that the NBA has a lot of machinery for data analysis, and something similar cannot be done in Finland, for example. In Tuov’s opinion, you don’t always need to analyze everything. The most important thing is to focus resources on what is beneficial for the team and the players.
Tuovi is excited about the lessons he learned in the United States, and he can’t wait to share what he has learned further at the national team camp.
– I hope they can listen, because I got many ideas that can be brought to this activity, he laughed and nodded to Susijeng, who was preparing on the adjacent field.
According to Tuovi, Susijeng’s game does not change because he has gone to learn from the NBA. According to him, Finland’s game can change mainly because the team has different player profiles in different playing positions than before. He doesn’t want to change Susijeng’s operations too much, because the team already has a good history with his own work.
– It doesn’t really matter how the chef knows how to do his bravura, if the ingredients are on the table. You should respect them and make them as good a match as possible, he compared.
He reminded that both in the national team and in club teams, the players work seriously, but athletes can also have fun.
– The fact that they have such an atmosphere that there is a chance to succeed and it’s good to succeed. We are trying to bring that into Susijeng’s everyday life.
Utah is interested in the openness of Finns
Lauri Markkanen’s role in Finnish basketball cannot be overemphasized, but according to Lassi Tuovi, the fact that Markkanen is currently playing in the world’s best basketball league at the top level is the most important thing. Others will also be able to benefit from it and move the activities of Finnish basketball forward.
– If it can open some doors, it always gives us the most.
The fact that Tuovi got to coach in the NBA summer league was a great experience, but he would like to give this kind of professional exchange to others in the future. In his opinion, the openness of Finnish basketball coaching has always been a wealth, and now the Utah Jazz is the kind of community that is interested in it. In Tuov’s opinion, this cooperation must be refined.
Lassi Tuovi has said that one day he would like to coach in the NBA. He did not directly admit whether this dream was confirmed now at Jazz’s summer camp.
– The fact that it’s sweet to see different places and cultures became stronger. The fact that I got to see something so different. I got so much power from it that it’s worth being curious in the future, Tuovi went around.