As the Great Britain Men’s National Team Head Coach, Marc Steutel is used to the eyes of the nation’s basketball community being on him, but this season he’s had even more attention thanks to the star-studded British Basketball League roster he’s assembled in the north-east.
The Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles play-caller stole the headlines with his recruitment all summer long, and the team have been under the microscope ever since as they’ve built towards becoming the juggernaut many expected them to be.
Having turned the club’s 2023/24 season around after a challenging start, Coach Steutel sat down with us to discuss the task of rebuilding the Eagles and taking them towards title contention in the British Basketball League.
“It’s been a positive challenge with a group
that is genuinely a pleasure to be around,” Steutel said.
“They’re colourful, charismatic, they have energy, and come in each day giving everything to find the best version of this group.
“We have had a lot of attention but overall,
between the domestic League and Europe, I feel we’ve done a good job of
bringing an entirely new group together and finding a way of working that can
be successful.
“We’ve been inconsistent, undoubtedly, and had some challenges but our goal as a group every day is to become experts in ourselves, unpicking every possible scenario and situation with the individuals and groups that I can, so when we get to the level we want to — competing to win titles — we’re ready for whatever is thrown at us.”
Writing your
own story
With a 7-3 record in their last 10 games, bettered only by the London Lions in the same period, the Eagles have soared up the table considerably following early-season struggles that had them as low as eighth in the Championship standings.
A roster full of players who are used to being the go-to guys previously in their careers have learned along the way how to sacrifice for each other and feed the teammates who are in rhythm to carry the group forward. Steutel detailed his happiness at how his group have found their roles in the roster more decisively over recent weeks:
“If you look back over the last 10 games,
we’ve been on a relatively good run in the League and I think what’s clicked for
us is that we’ve learned from different experiences, being up in games, down in
games, had close games, larger margin games and different roles for players who
have had to learn about each other along the way.
“You have an idea when you bring a group together of what a player’s role will be, but sometimes that figures itself out based on rhythm, performance and style of play. I think that’s probably where we’ve gotten to over our last ten games, but what pleases me the most is that we’ve had contributions from everybody.
“I still think when you look down our
roster, it’s inevitable some will feel more in rhythm than others, but that’s
basketball and my challenge is to try and get everybody feeling that they have
the opportunity to write their own story and make sure that their story is
about impacting winning.”
Sticking
together through it all
After a difficult start to Championship
action which resulted in just three wins from the team’s opening 10 games,
questions were being asked by fans and the media as to what needed to change at
the Eagles to get the most out of this star-studded roster.
Changing personnel in these circumstances
is always going to be subject to speculation, as many teams across the League
have made similar changes to try and rescue their seasons in the opening three
months, but Steutel detailed why he was adamant that making any changes to the
roster was never a consideration.
“I remember when we had a 3-7 record and coming into the gym for our first practice session of the following week. I told the guys that this was the hill I would die on because I believe in this group and what I’ve seen is absolute; I didn’t and still don’t think making any personnel changes would improve us.
“I felt really secure with the roster from
the second we got the group together and saw them in practice, so hopefully
that that that will pay dividends throughout this next period of the season.
“Tactically, I don’t think we’ve changed our general ideas but as a coach, sometimes, you’ve got to bend and not break. I feel like I’ve gotten more comfortable with the group in understanding where certain players like the ball, and which situations require certain players, and adjusted what we’re doing according to that, which has helped us find success.
“We understand where we are and that we’re
nowhere near where we want to be, but our goal is to be playing basketball on May
19 at The O2. We’ve got the ability to be there, but we must continue to take
care of business and win the games that we need to win to do that.”
20 years not
out
Steutel has long-since been heralded as a highly-regarded up-and-coming coach at the top level, and many will know of his experience in the last 18 months with the Eagles and over the last number of years with the National Team.
What you might not know, though, is that
Steutel’s journey to the top is over 500 games in the making, as the man – who is
a self-described basketball junkie – has amassed an incredible career in coaching
at various elite levels domestically and internationally.
“I feel fortunate that before coaching the
Eagles I’ve had quite a varied experience, coaching probably over 500 games at
different levels, predominantly in England’s NBL through Divisions One, Two and
Three, as well as in the Elite Academy League, and working with junior national
teams all the way through to Great Britain senior men’s team.
“Coaching has given me an incredible
experience and through that I’ve become very self-aware, very reflective, and
always looking to grow. I think a lot of coaches challenge players to get
better every day but they need to challenge themselves as well and I certainly
endeavour to do that.
“I’ve been in a lot of unique situations, from having to coach a National Team with four days’ notice against one of the world’s best teams with zero experience of coaching senior internationals, to coaching student athletes and trying to learn what makes them tick, to coaching academy juniors, which is entirely different again, and I’m not even 40 yet!
“You could definitely call me a basketball junkie, and I’ve invested in myself as a coach for over 20 years. I’ve put the miles in on the floor, but I feel like I’m only just getting started as I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet and that next step for me is making this club a successful one again.”
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