Former Red Star Captain Warns Hapoel Jerusalem About Coach Obradović's Demanding Style

Ahead of Hapoel Jerusalem's new basketball season under coach Sasha Obradović, a stark warning comes from Serbia. Ognjen Dobrić, captain of Red Star Belgrade and a player under Obradović last season, revealed in a podcast interview the intense and overwhelming coaching methods that contributed to the team's poor performance. Dobrić described Obradović's tactical obsession and heavy information load, which confused players during critical moments. "Sasha understands basketball deeply and is constantly seeking improvement, but he tried to put everything into the players' heads, and they got lost at decisive times," Dobrić said. He noted that Obradović had ten different solutions for every pick-and-roll play, which was impossible for players to absorb, especially with a roster of 15 players.

Dobrić also criticized Obradović's rigid game management, where players were benched despite performing well because the coach followed a predetermined plan rather than adapting to the flow of the game. "He sits hot players on the bench because he imagined it that way," Dobrić explained, calling this inflexibility a failure in Belgrade. The captain confirmed rumors of strained locker room relations, highlighting that Obradović did not communicate with player Chima Moneke, whom he had previously expelled from Monaco. Dobrić also mentioned Donatas Motiejūnas being sidelined once other centers returned from injury, leaving Motiejūnas frustrated.

These harsh revelations serve as a warning to Hapoel Jerusalem's owner, Matan Adelson, and the team's promising roster. While Dobrić acknowledged that Obradović wants the best for the team and that his system could work over two to three years, Jerusalem hopes the Serbian coach has learned from his Belgrade setbacks and will avoid imposing an overwhelming burden that could derail the ambitious project in the capital.