Walkup: “We have this incredible feeling of being all together”

Olympiacos hosts Armani Milan for the 38th and final round of the EuroLeague regular season and needs the win to secure first place in the standings. Thomas Walkup and Giorgos Bartzokas spoke during the customary Media Day, one day before the game.

In his opening statement about the matchup, Giorgos Bartzokas emphasized the following: “They are a team that plays with great defensive intensity. They apply a lot of pressure on defense, denying hand-offs. They play organized basketball and move the ball a lot. Of course, they are talented. The fact that they won’t compete for a playoff spot doesn’t mean they lack talent. If you look at their roster, you will understand. This is our last regular-season game and at the moment we are in first place. Our players have made a great effort all year despite many injuries, changes, and players constantly coming in and out. One game before the end, we are where we are. I think we deserve to be in this position. We would like to finish the season as first seed and, of course, we want to win as a culmination of all our effort during the regular season. It is not easy at all given the level of European basketball.”

On how simple it is to chase victory against a theoretically indifferent team, the coach said: “Obviously, it’s not simple. It requires effort and sticking to the plan. If anyone thinks the game is just procedural, we will get into trouble and it will show quickly. I hope that doesn’t happen, because we are generally a serious team that lately sticks to the plan. We do the simple things, which are important in basketball, like setting screens, moving without the ball, moving the ball with speed, and switching the ball from one side to the other. We do these things more consistently now and we aim to be even more consistent in the playoffs.”

Regarding injured players, Bartzokas said: “Fournier is fine, as is Ntilikina. Jones is out. He hasn’t returned to practice yet, and Morris is only doing individual training. He will also be unavailable. Everyone else will be ready.”

On what has led Olympiacos to be the only team to finish first in the regular season three times since the format change, the Greek coach answered: “I won’t say it’s our fantastic work. I’ll say that the organization has great knowledge of how to operate. The presidents provide stability, and the fact that the coach remains the same is also a sign of that stability. We have a specific plan and we try to avoid fluctuations in wins and losses throughout the season. Most importantly, our key guard this year, Keenan Evans, got injured early, and I would like to thank the presidents for their support with mid-season transfers that helped us a lot, also at the center position. It proved that the EuroLeague requires deeper rosters than ever. All teams have 17–18 players. The additions we made during the season were very important.”

From his side, Thomas Walkup said about the upcoming game: “We definitely have to deal with their physicality and we know Armani Milan is coming here to win. It’s the last game of the regular season and we still have time to improve, to prepare our bodies and our team for the playoffs. It’s a very good opportunity for us to get better and to secure first place in the regular season.”

On the importance of finishing at the top, Walkup added: “First place is an achievement, but it doesn’t mean anything until the games start. Home-court advantage was the most important thing we wanted to secure, and now we’re going for the top spot.”

On whether Olympiacos is ready to go all the way this season, the team’s guard said: “I think this team was built for that. We are playing good basketball right now, we have a deep roster, and we have this incredible feeling of being all together, which is especially important at the end of the season.”

Regarding the issue raised by Panathinaikos about his Greek passport, Walkup commented: “I wasn’t really part of that situation. I don’t know where it came from and it seemed a bit silly overall. I am very proud to be a Greek citizen, to represent the country and the national team. On the court, I gave everything I could; it doesn’t mean we will win every game. I’ve said many times that this country is my home and I will represent my country and my team as best as I can.”