Tim Shea Interview
By Aran Smith
4/5/04

Tim Shea

Having spent the past 30 years coaching and living in Europe, Tim Shea has built a vast network of contacts. As a coach, Shea has won 2 National Titles. He has also worked as a TV and Radio broadcaster. Shea became Director of International scouting with the New York Knicks and later with the Phoenix Suns. He is now Director of International Scouting for the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. Shea's experience and knowledge of the European game has made him one of the most respected International experts.

Lets start with a little background info. How did you first become involved with basketball?

When you live in the New York City housing projects you learn to play some ball... or you may end up with very few friends. It was a street education from the beginning. I started my official play in grammar school and continued on
through college. Rollins College in Florida was the place I finally decided to go, but on a baseball scholarship after declining a NY Yankee offer to join their organization. I played varsity as a freshman in both baseball and basketball and in 1972 I began playing basketball professionally in Holland.

Living and coaching in Spain has really enabled you to build a solid network of eyes and ears in Europe. Discuss living in Spain as opposed to America?

I have lived and coached in Rotterdam, Vienna, Venice, Parma, Biella, Pordenone and Marsala, Sicily (all Italy); El Ferrol, Madrid, Barcelona, Lugo, Palma de Mallorca and Ourense (all Spain), Lisbon, Portugal and finally, Jerusalem, Israel. I guess in over 30 years you get to meet a lot of good people with good basketball minds. I have maintained contact with many of them. There is no way to compare living in different continents... one cannot compare apples and oranges. What I can say is that all these places are unique in their own way.One common denominator that these international locations share is the "football factor." By that I mean the "soccer as THE ONLY Sport" mindset. Specifically, what it does, is it negates the "play to win" perspective and accentuates the "play to not lose" aspect. Teams that lose too much are relegated to inferior divisions of competition. This process creates a tremendous fear of lost revenues and prestige for the losing clubs. Just imagine that the weakest teams of the NBA, at the end of a losing season, would be demoted to the CBA. Some might say it is counter productive and almost destructive. It negates the entertainment side and highlights the tension and negativity aspect. As long as the International basketball world follows this "Soccer" model it cannot distinguish itself as a separate entity in the sports panorama.

How do you explain the huge influx of International players in the NBA draft over the past several years?

We have to look back before the last few years and ask the question 'Why weren't more international players recruited and/or drafted? ' There have always been talented players that were non-Americans, but it wasn't "fashionable" to draft such players. So the incorporation of international players was slower than it could have been. We saw players like Drazen Petrovic succeed years ago, but that didn't jumpstart the international infusion like it could have. In essence, the market is and has been in expansion and players all over the world are starting to realize that they too can compete with the best. I expect that more and more International players will be presenting themselves to the NBA.

Pat Riley has made statements to the effect that most of the European players in the NBA are "filler players", and there is a bias towards European players based on the success of a few (Peja, Dirk, Gasol) what are your thoughts on this?

Tim Shea

That just confirms what I said to the previous question. Let's just say that the majority of American players are fillers also... that is obvious. All players on a team are role players... some major and some minor. A team is composed of players playing their part, as in an orchestra. The guy who clashes the cymbals once during a recital is just as important as the 1st violinist.

During the 2001 draft, Jiri Welsch was quick to question Kenny Smith when he called it a "wake up call" for American players that Europeans were essentially stealing their jobs. Have we entered a new age of basketball?

I don't buy into the concept that Europeans are stealing anything. This is a free marketplace and the competition is fierce. I do agree that a lot of International draft picks have been errors, especially over the last years... but... there have also been an equal number of mistakes made with American-born picks. There is no "new age" in basketball... it's survival of the fittest. If an international player is the fittest then the American players should do what is necessary to prevent "their" spot from being taken by someone else.

NBA GMs were polled on which countries would begin to produce the most NBA players. Serbia and Montenegro was first and Russia was second. How do you assess this question?

I do not have a crystal ball but it would be a good guess. Italy and Spain have been investing time and money also and some players will come from there too. Watch out for Asia too... everyone knows about Yao Ming, but more players from Asia will follow.

It's early in regards to which European players will enter the draft, but can you comment on this years crop of European players in relation to the past couple years?

Just as the pool of American players has shrunk, so has the International pool. If one continues to go to the tree, so to speak, and take unripe fruit, the tree will eventually suffer. I think that is the case here. Young players, of any nationality, need time to develop and I must say that this year's draft does not appear to be one of the strongest in recent years on the international front.

How do you compare the top teams in Europe to the top NCAA teams? For Instance how would UConn or Duke compete in Euroleague? And would the worst teams in Euroleague definitely win the Final Four if they were in the field?

The top NCAA teams do not have the manpower to compete in the Euroleague. It is boys against professional men. There is no way NCAA teams could compete with the size, height, skills and experience of top Euroleague teams. Overall, the Euroleague has the second-best basketball talent in the world, behind only the NBA.