Former player of Hapoel Jerusalem coach: "Players did not function on the court"

While Hapoel Jerusalem prepares for the new season under Sasa Obradovic, a warning arrives from Serbia. Ognjen Dobric, captain of Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, who played under the coach last season, was interviewed for the "6,75 range" podcast and provided a rare, sharp, and unfiltered look behind the scenes of the working methods of the coach, who finished last season in Belgrade outside the EuroLeague playoffs and with an elimination in the Adriatic League semifinals.

Dobric described a tactical obsession and heavy information overload that made it difficult for players to function.

"Sasa understands a lot about basketball, 24 hours a day he looks for ways to improve, but he wanted to put everything into the players' heads and they got lost in the moments of truth. For every single pick-and-roll move, he has 10 different solutions. You can't teach players 10 solutions, you need to give one or two. I tried to explain to him that not everyone is capable of keeping up with his pace. Fitting 15 players into such a system is very difficult."

"Sits hot players on the bench"

Beyond the theoretical load, Dobric revealed rigid game management that led to team resentment: "Players were frustrated precisely in their best moments. When you feel hot, Sasa sits you on the bench. He has a pre-set plan in his head of how many minutes each will play, like a movie he created, and he acts according to it and not according to what is developing on the court. Even if you scored 10 points in a row, he will take you out, because that's how he imagined it. Because of this fixation on his vision, he failed in Belgrade."

The disconnect in the locker room

The Serbian captain also confirmed the rumors about strained relations in the locker room: "With Chima Moneke, Sasa didn't even speak; he kicked him out in the past from Monaco and they didn't exchange a word." Dobric also described the treatment of Donatas Motiejunas, who was erased from the rotation the moment centers Joel Bolomboy and Hassiel Rivero returned from injury: "Suddenly he had four centers, and Sasa simply decided to bench Motiejunas, who was very disappointed and didn't expect it. With him, the worst thing is when everyone is healthy."

Dobric's harsh words place a bright warning sign before owner Matan Adelson and the sparkling roster built in the capital. While Dobric emphasized that "Obradovic wants the best for the team and his method can work in the long term of two-three years," in Jerusalem they will hope that the Serbian coach has learned lessons from his failure in Belgrade – and will not force upon his players a load that could dismantle the ambitious project in the capital.