Tuesday, 01.08.2006	posted by Stefano Valenti 8:45 am
Category: FIBA World Championship

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BARGNANI? NOT ANYMORE. THE PROBLEM IS PLAYMAKING.

Nineteen days to the WC tip-off, but on the court Italy is still so far from the team that coach Carlo Recalcati wants. The three veterans, Basile, Marconato and Soragna (two of them back from surgeries) are all but the players the coach needs. The youngers are, as always, those who sometimes creates from nothing, and few seconds after throw everything in the basket, but in the waste paper one... Finally, the group of unexperienced players at int'l level are... unexperienced.

Everybody are confident that making two high-level tournament like Acropolis in Athens and Supercup in Berlin will help: the veterans on the road for the best shape, the youngers and the unexperienced to add experience at int'l level competitions. But one problem seems the biggest, now: plamaking.

Rieti, June, stage-1 - Recalcati calls four potential point guards for the team: Fabio Di Bella (Virtus Bologna), Daniele Cavaliero (Roseto, from Milano), Andrea Pecile (Siena) and Robert Fultz (Teramo, from Fortitudo Bologna).

After that Pozzecco makes is own decision to stop the NT career, and Recalcati to give a free summer to Bulleri (not happy for this), all the shirts for the playmakers are avalaible. And in Recalcati idea, the dream is to find new ones. At the end of this stage Fultz is the first cut, and all others advance to stage-2 in Bormio. And Di Bella is the unofficial MVP of Azzurri.

Bormio, July, stage-2 - Two more PG are with the team now: Jacopo Giachetti (Roma) and Valerio Spinelli (Napoli), late calls because of their high-quality season with their team, advanced until playoffs semis.

Recalcati share all the PG in two groups: the real PG, that are Di Bella, Spinelli and Giachetti, fighting for two shirts; and the "fakes", that means those who can play at the point but at the same create for themselves, like Pecile and Cavaliero, both able to create a shot off the screens or from the dribble. At Bormio tournament huge defeats for Azzurri, vs Serbia and Greece. The problem? Tons of turnovers, no leadership in playmaking. All the PG are under charge now. Hard words from Recalcati in the lockeroom, at the end of the stage and two more cuts from the group: Cavaliero and Spinelli, two PG... Now three are still running, but the coach has to change his original idea: no more three shirts for them, probably just one.

From Athens to Berlin - In this day Recalcati is making his final decision regarding PG. He's not satisfied, obviously: all of the candidates are suffering for the body pressure and the skills of the opponent, at the same.

And if the plamaking is going in trouble, all the tean is going into troubles. The coach said that the team will made of 4 between centers and power forward (Marconato the only one sure about that, the naturalyzed Mason Rocca could be the second), 2 betweener for the forwards position (Gigli and Mancinelli) and 6 between PG and SG position: Basile, Belinelli, Soragna and Mordente are safe. Less than two months ago, Basile and Belinelli has to share the SG position, also in a combo guard situation like they played sometimes in Fortitudo and, last season, Basile at Barcelona with Navarro.

Now could be the same, with Baso at the point. But, more, Soragna will have the duty of PG playing with two guards on the court, as he never been in his career, if we talk about a real PG and not about a transition solution.

"We'll take our decision about the formula game by game" Recalcati said. The loss of Bulleri seems to be heavier, if nobody of Di Bella, Giachetti and Pecile will give a hand to the coach like the coach did with the players he choose to replace the hard inheritance of "Bullo".