The Eurobasket is arguably the best 3-week basketball tournament in the world with the top teams from around Europe competing against each other for the continental crown. Add to that the dozens upon dozens of NBA players and you get one fantastic competition that will span four countries, Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy and Germany for the group stages with the knockout rounds taking place in Berlin.

Israel of course is playing in Prague and in order to get a taste of the other teams in the group, The Sports Rabbi spoke to a number of players and personalities and spotlighted their stories.

Mike Taylor had been Poland’s head coach between 2014-2021 and was undoubtedly one of the best bench bosses the nation had seen this century taking the squad to the 2019 World Cup in China as the highlight of his term with the team.

The American tactician was surprisingly relieved of his duties back in the summer of 2021 after he had guided Poland to the 2022 Eurobasket but nonetheless will be a part of this year’s tournament as a television announcer, but nonetheless he would have preferred to be on the sidelines in the thick of the action.

Just ahead of Israel’s clash with Poland, Taylor spent some time discussing the team, how the program had evolved over his time with the team, along with his highlights in charge as well as his view of Group D that is playing in Prague and where he sees his former charges today.

“The last World Cup qualifying campaign was a bit of a disappointment. The team tried to rejuvenate with some of the roster with younger players and pushed out the veterans too early. Young players didn’t have players to count on and they came up short. It’s disappointment and a big step back, but anytime there is a coaching change it takes time to build back up and you want to see these guys be successful and it’s extremely competitive. It’s difficult to get young players national team experience and prepare them in a meaningful way. Poland has their work cut out for them with a young group and I want to see those guys do well.”

Taylor, who just turned 50 at the end of August, began his coaching career back in 1995 as an assistant on the staff of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and began to move up the ranks in the United States until he took his first head coaching job in Germany with Chemnitz 99 before becoming a mainstay at Ulm between 2003-2011. The Williamsport native then waded into national team basketball when he worked as an assistant with the Czech Republic while also having stints in the then D-League as well and with Hamburg from 2018-2020.

His time with Czechia was what eventually made him a marked man for Poland Taylor explained, “A lot of it came from the 4 years with the Czech National Team between 2011-2013 and that built up in EuroBasket 2013 when we were in the same group as Poland. One of the big wins was an upset to beat Poland and they weren’t happy where they were and I got involved. They liked my background and I had experience in Germany, plus 4 years as a national team assistant while my style and philosophy was very different. I’m a great motivator, a players coach and I brought the style of American game.”

Of course Taylor wanted to be a part of the upcoming campaign with Poland but things didn’t work out as the two sides parted ways in amicable fashion, “I’ll be Cologne and Berlin doing color commentary for the Eurobasket so I will be at there. But of course you want to finish the job you started and it wasn’t easy in the beginning. That was the decision that Poland made and I wanted to handle it respectfully. We are still in contact and positive in that way. Also having my background with the Czech Republic was something I was excited about. I want to see Poland be successful but it’s also hard to watch them.”

As for Group D, the general consensus is that Israel, Poland and Finland will be fighting it out for 3rd, 4th and 5th places with Serbia taking the top spot and the hosts finishing in second and Holland bringing up the rear in 6th. Taylor agrees with that train of thought, “I feel that the Netherlands has fallen off a bit. Serbia is a great team talent wise and matchup wise. The host team not only has home court but Tomas Satoransky is a difference maker and the core will be tough to beat at home. So it comes down to 3 teams for the final two spots, Israel, Finland and Poland. Finland has done some good work and have Lauri Markannen. I love what Israel has done since 2015 and I like their style of basketball, their pick and roll play as well as the skills that they have as well as Poland with their transition.”

Poland happens to be one of the few teams that does not feature an NBA player at this tournament and this may be a disadvantage for the squad as both Israel and Finland have one a piece. Taylor eloquently explained what a player from the world’s best league can bring to a national team in this type of competition.

“As our players started to grow and develop outside of Poland in Spain’s ACB League and the VTB at the time. The international game competitions provide high level competition on a regular basis, as players can make a huge step forward rather than just be playing in a domestic league. As they grew we felt those players made some big steps. In the NBA there is outstanding talent, skill work and the quality of player makes a big difference and impacts the team’s self confidence. You always have these guys who can take that pressure and who have been in the spotlight. It’s a confidence boost and can elevate all of the other players and the team.”

“When we played in the Olympic qualifier and you look at Slovenia, Luka Doncic makes everyone better and helps them raise their level of play. It’s the same thing in Lithuania with Domatas Sabonis and Jonas Valančiūnas in the front court. Those guys elevate their game and were able to get to the next level the way we couldn’t get there.”

One of Poland’s stars in no question naturalized guard AJ Slaughter who at the age of 35 is still a mainstay with the national team since arriving in 2015.

“I love AJ and you’re talking about a fantastic player and person who can connect with all types of people. He’s super coachable, intelligent and I love how his game has developed. When I was in the D-League I wanted to bring him in and I started to get to know him and then he went back to France. When I came to Poland I said let’s try and help out the team with a passport player and his name jumped right out. We pursued it and we did everything to make it work and we were fortunate to add a great player on and off of the court.”

One of the up and coming players in Polish basketball is Aleksandar Balcerowski due to his size and abilities that are unique as a very active big man, “In Polish a bird is Szpaku and that is his nickname. He brings size and mobility and while it’s been tough at Gran Canaria we all hope that he takes the next steps forward and I am rooting for him.”

Taylor also looked at other players that the fan should be looking at during the tournament which includes a former Israeli league player as well as a Euroleague star, “Michal Sokolowski is hard working power forward. Aaron Cel was our power forward, Michal Michalak has the great ability to score, Mateusz Ponitka is the leader of the team and can impact the game at the most crucial moments and decide a game. I hope they can maximize their chances.”

While Taylor would like to see how far he would be able to get with the Poland team that he had guided to this tournament, he still has plenty of satisfaction from his other accomplishments with the squad.

“There were so many big things with the 2019 World Cup run including a win over the host China on their home court, beating Russia to get to the top 8 and being able to compete against Spain. Playing team USA was something special as well. We had a lot of other great moments in 2020 when we beat Spain for the first time in 48 years plus qualifying for the Eurobasket.”

As for future plans, Taylor explained that he is pretty open to any solid opportunity, “Next up is TV in Cologne and Berlin and after that I’m pretty wide open and I had a great summer in Canada. As for coaching in Israel, I think it’s a great basketball country and the Israel National Team guys are very friendly competitors and everything is open.”