Last season, Crvena Zvezda looked like a team headed straight for the EuroLeague playoffs.
And with good reason, their fans were starting to believe it, too.
Instead, the red-and-whites barely made the Play-In, only to see their season end there against Barcelona.
Chima Moneke has no desire to see history repeat itself.
In an interview with SK Week, the power forward talks about Ibon Navarro’s system, putting egos aside, the pressure that comes with playing for Crvena Zvezda – and why the biggest lesson from last season is not to peak too soon.
“It’s Not Supposed to Be Easy”
I know it’s still early days, but how high are the expectations for this season?
I don’t know. The goal is to be better than we were the day before. We don’t want to be the best team that we can be in October and November like we were last season. So, no expectations. We just want to be better. And if we believe in what the coach is saying, then I feel like we can achieve whatever goals we have.
Do you feel it will be tough to adjust to the new system and coach Navarro’s philosophy?
It will be tough. It’s not supposed to be easy. You know, it’s not supposed to be easy at all, but it’ll take time. It’s a process. We’re going to have good days, we’re going to have bad days. We can make it worse by not believing. We can make it better by believing and not overreacting to any particular game, whether it’s good or bad.
A month in, what are the traits of Ibon’s system and how do you feel within the team?
Togetherness is, like, the biggest trait, I would say. On the phone call with me in the summer, he basically said that it doesn’t matter who it is – if you’re not having a good day or if you’re sick or injured, he doesn’t want the team to feel like we’re unable to play without this player. That’s what I think in my head.
“It Really Doesn’t Matter Who You Are”
We know that in Navarro’s system no player tends to play more than 25 minutes. Will everyone buy in?
No, naturally, no. Right now, there are going to be days where you feel like you should have played more, but that’s part of the process. So it would sound good for you to say, “Yes, everyone’s ready.” But as a professional athlete, you have an ego, you have your point of view, you have your thoughts, and there’s going to be days where you’re playing really well and you want to play more.
But he’s thinking of the bigger picture. So if we believe in him, like we all say we do, then we need to remember that. Most people will have trouble with that, but I feel like at some point we’ll figure it out. Hopefully, by December or January, that’s not an issue anymore, but it’ll take time.
What’s his way of getting his messages across?
His way of getting it across is with actions. Some people talk to certain players in a different tone or they let certain players do certain things. But no, it really doesn’t matter who you are. You have to do what’s best for the team.
He doesn’t think about status, what you did last year, what you’re making. He thinks about this: are you helping the team in this moment? If not, then come and sit down and be ready to come back in. And if you still don’t want to help the team, then maybe today’s not your day. That’s perfect.
Who Really Cares About You?
You spoke quite a few times last year about the pressure of playing for Crvena zvezda. Do you feel it will be easier to deal with this time around?
Yeah, for the people who know what it takes, it should be easier. But pressure is a privilege. I look at it like that. I’d rather be someone that people care about or people depend on than the other way around.
And playing for this team, playing in this city, it’s like that. Not everyone can handle it. But it also means that if we achieve our goals, the reward will be greater than in most places.
What kind of advice would you give to Patrick Baldwin, for instance, a EuroLeague rookie?
There’s only so much you can say. But if we lose two games in a row and maybe he doesn’t play well, that’s when he will need to experience it for himself.
But I think your support system, your mental training is just more important than anything else in this type of environment. And just remember that most things are really not personal. It’s really about winning. And if you lose, if your team loses, everyone will get some sort of blame, whether it’s fair or not.
I don’t take it personally. I pay attention to who’s really important and who cares about me unconditionally. There’ll be people that tell you one thing based on what happened in the game. That’s conditional love. That shouldn’t matter as much.
But especially for Pat, coming from America, he’ll have to go through it and then learn from it.
October Is Not March
It’s not easy to say now, but how will this team look down the road when things start clicking?
It’s too early to say because we don’t have our identity yet. But at this point, we want to be a defensive team, run in transition, take good shots, be able to express ourselves, but play for the team. That’s team, team, team, team, team. That should be our identity.
For me, it’s about being healthy and being available. I don’t like how many little injuries I had last season. That’s it.
The core is here, but you added some new pieces as well. How much of an adjustment to each other is it going to be?
I don’t know how long it will take, but there will be an adjustment period. That’s why I said good days, bad days. Whatever we look like in October, November, December, we probably won’t look like that in March and April. And that’s the biggest takeaway from last season that I have.
How much of a personal responsibility do you feel to help this team grow?
My goal, while I’m here, is just to do my best every day – in training, taking care of my body, leading, being vocal. I feel all the responsibility. You know, I want to win. I want to win here. And I want to help everyone achieve their goals. And the best way – the only, the best way – to do that is by winning.
