After Hapoel Tel Aviv lost the Israeli league final series to Maccabi Tel Aviv, club owner Ofer Yannay appeared Wednesday on the program "5 Ba'Avir" and spoke extensively about Maccabi coach Oded Kattash. Yannay said he wants to see how Kattash handles a team full of stars, arguing that Kattash has benefited from coaching a weaker roster with few expectations.
"I want to see how Kattash deals with a team that has stars," Yannay said. "He enjoys very much the fact that he has a mediocre-minus roster with no real expectations. He succeeds with a short roster and as an underdog. That is good, but it gets you to 12th place in the EuroLeague. We finished the season in sixth place, and only dropped to sixth at the end of the season after spending 22 weeks in first place."
Yannay added that Kattash, when given a single star like Lonnie Walker, does not seem to be able to control him. He said Hapoel has more talent, including Elijah and others, and that such high-level talent usually comes with a big ego. In his view, the more elite players a coach has, the harder it is to harness them.
Yannay said Kattash has coached for many years and now needs to start proving himself through achievements. He noted that Kattash chose to stay at Maccabi, but said he does not think the coach will be given the tools to succeed there. Yannay said he told Kattash this directly in a conversation, and compared the situation to successful Israeli coaches Pini and David in Europe. He added that, in his view, Maccabi has generally lowered its standards over the past 20 years, aside from the 2013/2014 season.
