Olimpia Milano, Ettore Messina makes mea culpa on Simone Fontecchio

Messina makes mea culpa

Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina, during the first press conference of the season, spoke about the explosion of Simone Fontecchio, newly acquired from the Utah Jazz.

“I did not expect this explosion. I say this with sincerity. When he did a piece of preparation for the European Championship with us in 2017, which came on the run because someone was hurt, I mean…. True he had come from the beach and was not in condition. But the huge jump he has made is the enormous confidence with which he is playing that makes him do things that he probably had in his repertoire, but that so many times maybe he couldn’t do. He’s playing very well now. I think the year he had in Alba Berlin was very important,” explained the coach of the Milanese team.

“Also Nicolò Melli to become Nicolò Melli had to go to Bamberg. And Simone Fontecchio to become Simone Fontecchio had to go to Alba. And I also put myself among those who perhaps did not help these players here well. When I arrived in the summer of 2019, when we spoke with Simone, I told him, ‘If I have to keep you here to play five minutes a game…’ There were Brooks and Micov. Maybe I should have realized it first and said. And instead thinking I was doing something in his interest as well, I told him that in my opinion maybe the best thing was to go elsewhere. And he found a way to go to Berlin where he exploded. So I put myself among those who should reflect on that as well. It’s something that you also have to be admired for, because these guys went out of the house. Like Spissu where in Kazan he carved out an important role for himself,” continued the former assistant to Gregg Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs.

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