Happy Ourer: Welcome to the Coach Pio Reina show! I’m your host Happy Ourer. You’re listening to the flagship station on the Linndale Basketball Network, WINO radio, and we’re with Coach Pio Reina. Good to see you, coach. Do you want to get right to it and talk about Tuesday night?
Pio Reina: Tough night. We knew it would be. Defensively, we held them under 40% shooting. That’s a solid job, normally. The problem was the 43% they shot from outside. We can’t allow that from anyone. We outrebounded them overall and we beat them on the offensive boards. That was good to see. I didn’t like that we did such a poor job taking care of the basketball.
HO: What does the team take away from a loss like the one Tuesday?
PR: That we have to take better care of the basketball. That, and I want them to take away from this lost the most is that this group of guys can be an elite defense.
HO: Talk about Saturday’s win. What did you like and what wasn’t so good?
PR: The three point shooting was there. Walt Colenbrander was incredible, and the rebounding was solid. I was not pleased with the defense, the ball security, or free throw shooting.
HO: Coach, I know the last few seasons one of the problems you wanted to address was bench production.
PR: The bench is fluid. Our bench changes based on our need for training minutes and the opponent. An example was the early injury that rendered Ladislav Furka unavailable Saturday. He only played 8 minutes and that changed everything. We expect when things get settled, Furka will be a big part of the bench.
HO: Who else can we expect to see on the second unit once things get settled?
PR: Well, Happy, again I’m going to point out the fluidity of the bench. It will depend on what we need to accomplish in that moment. We’d like to see guys earn their spot and push for more playing time. One name I’ll give you is Hugo Gareca. He’s the most skilled offensive big man we’ve had come through Linndale, and once he forces his way into the starting lineup we expect him there for a long time.
HO: When that happens, who moves out of the starting lineup?
PR: We can do a number of things. One of the things I’d like to do is move Masuecos out of the paint full time and adjust the lineup to what we need that night. He’s an incredible rebounder, an incredible perimeter defender and incredible post defender. We could move Hairigyan to small forward at times. People forget Masuecos is naturally a small forward; we could play him there. We’ve entertained the idea of him on the second unit with Payelle and Furka. That would make it very difficult for opponents to find offense from their bench. We have plenty of options.
HO: You spoke briefly of Ladislav Furka. Tell us a bit more about him and another recent addition to the team, Antoine Payelle.
PR: We like Furka’s defense and rebounding a lot. We expect him to anchor the defense on the second unit. His defense is starting caliber right now. He has a good base for what we’re asking from him. Payelle is another one who’s defense is very strong. We’re excited to see the both of them grow and improve.
HO: With Payelle listed as a shooting guard, how does his arrival affect relative newcomer Bakytzhan Baymakhanov?
PR: It doesn’t. Baymakhanov is a skilled offensive weapon. There are things where Payelle can’t touch him, and there are things where the reverse is true. There’s also the possibility that the two share the court. They complement each other very well.
HO: Coach, we thank you for your time and look forward to talking with you next week and watching the team. Looks like a tough week ahead, going on the road at High Point and coming home to Twotone Touloose.
PR: Happy, every week is a tough week in this league. That's how I like it.
HO: Well good luck coach, and we'll see you next week with another 2 wins, right?
PR: I'd like that, but I'm sure our opponents will have someth