"Everything needs time": China coach stays patient after Kyle Anderson held scoreless vs. Serbia
Kyle Anderson struggled on his 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup opener against Serbia. Serbia came away with a dominant 105-63 win, a result they will be delighted with.
China coach Sasa Djordjevic did not want to delve too much into it after the game. He told reporters:
"You know me. I don't like to talk personally unless someone had really a great game that I can put an emphasis on that and I really put him in a great spotlight."
However, Djordjevic remains optimistic that Anderson, who was given the Chinese name Li Kaier, would quickly adjust to the international game:
"That's one game. That's for him also. [It's his] first time against teams like this -- first time in the World Cup -- so everything needs time. We're just patient."
While patience is to be lauded, China will need to get more out of Kyle Anderson quickly if they are to be competitive in this tournament.
Kyle Anderson's scoreless performance for China
Kyle Anderson played a little under 26 minutes in China's FIBA Basketball World Cup debut against Serbia.
However, Anderson went 0-for-9 from the field and was a minus-35 on the floor, and Serbia easily pulled away from China during the time he was in the game.
Serbia eventually won by 42 points, a margin that demonstrated their dominance on the court.
Djordjevic credited that to Serbia's successful defensive plan against Anderson:
"They found every time good traps on him and good situations defensively."
When asked about the specific game plan for Kyle Anderson, Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic kept quiet and instead said that it was more like first-game jitters:
"[He's an] excellent player, a very smart player who is, for him a new situation. [It's his] first time to play FIBA basketball."
He further discussed Anderson's capabilities as more of a "second point guard" than a scoring machine.
The six-foot-nine forward dished out four assists for China along with four rebounds and one steal.
Pesic agreed with Djordjevic (whom he actually replaced as Serbia's coach) that patience is needed for Anderson to succeed in international basketball:
"I think from day to day, he will find his rhythm to learn how it is to play in FIBA basketball."
Serbia captain Bogdan Bogdanovic also shared the same sentiment, saying that Anderson "will need time to adjust."
With only one assured Paris Olympics slot allotted for Asia, Anderson needs to adjust quickly if he is to lift China to the best Asian finish in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.