Vladimir Stankovic
In an interview with Frank Lawlor for Eurolague.net in 2011, Diamantidis explained the changes he went through when he joined Panathinaikos:
"When I was young, I watched basketball because I liked it. I didn't follow any particular players. When you are so young, you cannot understand some elements of the game, how the game is really played. You watch the game and you simply enjoy watching it. I believe that I picked up more elements of my game from my coaches and not from other players. When I first came to Panathinaikos, my coaches showed me that basketball can be played in a different way than the one I knew until then. They showed me that there are other things that can be done and showed me the way to do them. I saw a different kind of basketball, which I liked." Obradovic took notice of his defensive skills more than his talents on offense. In his first season with the Greens, Diamantidis improved his percentages (59.3% twos, 35.8% threes), doubled his average in assists and also performed great invisible jobs not always seen in the statistics.
Dimitris Diamantidis | Frank Lawlor | Panathinaikos | basketball | coaching | defense | learning | teaching | Željko Obradović
Libro: '101 greats of European Basketball' (pag. 105)
