SD: Sam Dunkley here with Linndale head coach Pio Reina. Coach, at the all-star break, how does the team look from your view?
PR: We’ve had the usual roster turnover, and I’m sure there will be more to come. I can’t say we’re thrilled with where we are currently in the standings, but we’ve been in worse spots.
SD: What is this team’s identity.
PR: Right now, whatever Juan Onrubia and Walt Colenbrander say it is. Juan and Walt, and everyone else kind of gets in where they fit in.
SD: That’s a surprising answer; it’s certainly not the usual defense and rebounding theme you’ve talked about.
PR: We’re not rebounding as well as we’d like. We don’t defend as well as we’d like. Signs are pointing to both changing for the better; it’s not like we’ve given those things up. Those are the bedrock principals of this organization.
SD: OK, I’ll bite. What are this team’s capabilities? What are they good at?
PR: We’re decent from outside. We’re decent rebounders. We’re pretty good at hitting the open man and making the extra pass. We can steal the ball a bit. I’d say we’re extremely average, with plenty of room to grow.
SD: Let’s talk individual players. Much was expected from Cheng Siu Wa. Has he delivered?
PR: He’s done what we’ve asked of him.
SD: The other newcomers, Ladislav Furka and Florentin Gales are interesting players. Tell us more about them.
PR: Furka is a young guy we brought in to anchor the 2nd unit defensively. He can defend, rebound, and block shots. He’s also a good passer. Gales can defend and is a threat on offense, but he’s a work in progress also. Our bigs as a group give us the ability to a number of things, and their skills are complementary.
SD: It feels like Arout Hairigyan is a bit underwhelming this season.
PR: Sam, the man is playing very well though he’s not shooting well. I think his biggest issue is a bit our fault; it’s hard to get a rhythm going when you don’t have a consistent role. He starts, he comes off the bench, he does whatever we ask of him. He’s been a true team guy; those guys don’t come easy.
SD: What can you tell us about the mystery men, Prudence Masuecos and Jacob Billings?
PR: A lot. Billings has put in a lot of work and we’ve been seeing that pay off behind the scenes. Good things are coming his way. He’s fundamentally sound and plays the game the right way. We just have a few things to work on before he can break into the rotation. Masuecos is not a mystery man, and I think he’d bristle at that. He has a very interesting skill set and we’re finally able to do more things with him. The addition of Cheng Siu Wa allowed us to explore more fully Masuecos’ skillset. We expect him to become a bigger weapon as we move forward.
SD: Honorijus Audinys started the season as the backup point guard. Since you moved him off ball, he’s been a bit of a revelation. Was it that simple as to take the ball away from him?
PR: That was part of it. We needed to make changes to the guards. We have.
SD: The last man in the front court, Juan Onrubia was phenomenal early on, but recently he’s tailed off a bit, even falling from the scoring race.
PR: He does what we need. Need a bucket? He’s that guy. That’s all most people see. He’s a willing passer, a gifted defender, his rebounding goes unappreciated by most, and he can stroke it from behind the arc as well as attack the rim.
SD: What about Antoine Payelle, Bakytzan Baymakhanov, and Maxim Oleynik?
PR: I’m excited to see what each becomes. We think Payelle is the PG of the future, BB the shooter we wanted, and we’ll see what Oleynik can be.
SD: I know you've got a game to coach. Thank you for your time and good luck tonight.
PR: Thanks, Sam.