Not many coaches make the Top 16 almost every season they are in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. But that's true of 44-year-old Aleskandar Trifunovic, who did so twice with Lietuvos Rytas, in 2007-08 and 2010-11. Last season, his was the last Euroleague team to beat champion Panathinaikos, in Athens, during the Top 16. Altogether, including a season with Panionios, Trifunovic has a 23-23 record in the Euroleague, 5-7 in the Top 16. This season, he will put all that experience to work for Euroleague fans by analyzing games from a coach's point of view.

Group A: Caja Laboral 81-69 Bennet Cantu

The game that caught my eye on Wednesday was the one in Vitoria, a team that has written its own strong Euroleague story, Caja Laboral, vs. a team that has come back after almost two decades to the elite, Bennet Cantu. Both teams entered the game with victories in their pockets. Caja Laboral used a big road performance to beat Fenerbahce Ulker in Week 1, while Cantu won at home against Nancy, just as big an accomplishment considering the team's long-time absence from the Euroleague. Caja Laboral had some bad luck going into the game due to injuries to perimeter players Richard Dorsey and Reggie Williams. Cantu arrived with a full squad full of confidence from having gone undefeated so far in the Euroleague and the Italian League. The visitors also had the advantage of a pretty solid roster leftover from last season, while Caja Laboral's lineup is newer and still in search of chemistry. Caja Laboral started well in front of its fans, and at 15-8, Cantu coach Andrea Trinchieri was forced to call his first timeout. Two of Caja Laboral's newcomers, Thomas... more

Not many coaches make the Top 16 almost every season they are in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. But that's true of 44-year-old Aleskandar Trifunovic, who did so twice with Lietuvos Rytas, in 2007-08 and 2010-11. Last season, his was the last Euroleague team to beat champion Panathinaikos, in Athens, during the Top 16. Altogether, including a season with Panionios, Trifunovic has a 23-23 record in the Euroleague, 5-7 in the Top 16. This season, he will put all that experience to work for Euroleague fans by analyzing games from a coach's point of view.

Hi to all you Euroleague fans! Three out of the last four seasons, I was coaching Euroleague teams, Since I am between coaching jobs (I hope), I have asked to participate in the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague in this new way. The biggest impression I took from my Euroleague experiences is the joy and challenge everybody feels to compete on the highest level. To keep my adrenaline level high, I have decided to share my thoughts on this season with you!

Four teams are making their Euroleague debuts this week: Bizkaia Bilbao, Galatasaray, KK Zagreb and Unics. First, congratulations to them. Second, don't be surprised to see one or more of them in the Top 16! Some advice for them: once the Euroleague starts, you cannot give too much respect to the opponents if you want to succeed. Before anything else, respect yourself!

Of course, the essence of the Euroleague is that there are not easy or uninteresting games in any phase of the competition. That's no less true during opening week in October than in Final Four weekend next spring. That makes it hard for me, as a coach, to choose which game I want to watch live and... more