For the first time in his 21-year coaching career, the Spaniard is back where he made his name as a player – at his hometown club
Pablo Laso: ‘My expectations at Baskonia are high’
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It was just a matter of time. Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pablo Laso played for Baskonia for over a decade way before he started an even more successful career as a head coach.
When he had the opportunity to come back home this summer, Coach Laso did not hesitate and signed a three-year contract with Baskonia. He believes it is great to be back but at the same time, there is no one more self-demanding than him when it comes to being successful with the club he grew up with.
"Coming back to your home city, for sure, it's a great feeling,” Laso says in a feature interview. “It's an important job I wouldn't even dream about, but at the same time, I see the team, I see the club and I see the fan base and everything with a lot of expectations about it.
"We are young, we are athletic, we are very hungry. We are going to see surprises from a lot of our players. My expectations are high, but at the same time, I have to be the first one saying, 'Hey, we're playing against great teams.’"
Everyone has welcomed Laso with open arms, especially the most important players in last season's squad. "He likes to joke around, likes to mess around. But when we get on the court, he's very serious and very about us doing what we need to do to be the best team we can," scoring ace Markus Howard says.
"I was always thinking, 'That's a guy that I'd love to play for.' I didn't know if it would ever happen, but when I saw that he came here, I was very, very excited," power forward Chima Moneke adds.
Laso knows Baskonia's fan base better than most and believes that the team won't lack his trademark character, night in and night out.
"We are going to try to be competitive every night. We are going to be ready every night," Laso proclaims. "And this is something that I promise to the fan base because for me, it's very important that we show from the beginning that we are ready."