Jim Todd and the rest of Milwaukee's assistant coaches have had plenty of experience working around the language barriers that come with international players. (Getty)

Print RSS Feeds FastBreak Tix

November 23, 2007

MILWAUKEE -- When assembling a coaching staff, many National Basketball Association head coaches like to find individuals who specialize in certain areas of the game, or have become renowned as gurus for their work with players at a particular position.

To hear Milwaukee Bucks veteran assistant coach Jim Todd explain this, he might sound a bit blasphemous, to those who don't know better.

"Some guys have spent a lot of time coaching the gods," Todd said. "Other guys, like myself, have done a lot of work with the big guys."

Only if you realize that Todd speaks with a New England accent as thick as a fog over Boston's harbor do you realize that he was talking about guards; not gods.

"I've worked with a lot of foreign-born players," Todd said. "Sometimes communicating with them can be difficult, plus you know I'm from Boston, and I have that Boston accent. So even some of the players who've spent their entire lives in the United States are going to have trouble understanding what I say sometimes.

"I'm speaking my own language as it is, and sometimes guys look at me like I'm from another planet!"

Entering the 2007-08 NBA season, there were 76 players from 31 different countries and territories on league rosters.

And during the past several years, the Bucks' roster has included the following foreign-born players: Mirsad Turkcan, Turkey; Zaza Pachulia, Republic of Georgia; Jamaal Magloire, Canada; Toni Kukoc, Croatia; Jiri Welsch, Czechoslovakia; Ersan Ilyasova, Turkey; Damir Markota, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Dan Gadzuric, Holland; Andrew Bogut, Australia; and Yi Jianlian, China.

To the Bucks' coaches, it might sometimes seem like the United Nations has moved its headquarters to Milwaukee. But they have resourcefully found ways to hurdle any communication barriers they have encountered.

Bucks assistant Brian James, a 10-year veteran of NBA coaching, has seen the dynamics in action many times.

"It's always good to know another language," he said. "I personally can't speak fluent Spanish or French, or anything else. But you can't believe what an advantage it is to have somebody on your staff who can do that."

Todd can appreciate that. He hasn't sat in on any foreign language classes, but he has devised alternate routes to get his job done.

"Man, I was lucky to get out of high school, let alone college, so I'm not trying to outsmart anybody," Todd quipped. "Fortunately, basketball has become a universal language."

James developed a better understanding of this last summer when he had the opportunity to coach in "Basketball Without Borders," a program in which American coaches and players visited South Africa and presented a basketball camp for 18- and 19-year-old players on the continent of Africa. James' team featured nine players from eight different countries. You will find a fascinating blog detailing his experiences on bucks.com.

"My first day, they had not given me a translator as of yet, so I was trying to not only speak English, but use a lot of sign language, in terms of showing them rebounding, and guarding, and showing them footwork and things like that," James said. "But my second day through my last day, I had two interpreters -- one who spoke fluent French and one who spoke Zulu, or the tribal languages.

"That made a world of difference with the kids, in their comfort level and in their understanding of what I was trying to say. It was a great help to them."

Bill Peterson, who joined the Bucks staff as an assistant coach/player development on June 4 of 2007, has carved a niche for himself in the NBA for his ability to connect with foreign-born players and help show them the ropes of both the league and our country in general.

"When I was in college, I worked one summer with the Golden State Warriors," Peterson said. "Donnie Nelson hired me as a special assistant. And I worked out Sarunas Marciulionis (a Lithuania native). He spoke hardly any English at all.

"I just did drills. I showed him stuff, then he'd do it. Then I'd walk him through it. We got to be pretty good friends, too. I spent a couple weeks in the summer working with him."

Peterson never allowed himself to be intimidated by the fact that he could not speak Lithuanian, or that Marciulionis knew little English.

"There are ways around the language barrier," Peterson said. "A person can always say, 'Well, he doesn't understand English.' Well, we're not getting married now, OK? I just tried to teach him some things and work through some stuff with him.

"That's where the perseverance comes in. And you've got to be creative, too. Through all the experiences I've had, the good Lord has taught me some stuff. There's got to be different ways I can learn to communicate with people."

Some of Peterson's most educational and rewarding experiences in breaking down language barriers have come abroad.

"I've gone overseas a couple of times to do some clinics," he said. "I remember being in Rome, Italy, and there were about 50 coaches there. A friend of mine who was with the Dallas Mavericks and was working for Nike too heard me speak. He came over and heard me speak and asked me, 'Would you come over next week and do a clinic in my club?' and I said, 'Sure.'

"He called all these people and there ended up being 40 or 50 people there. I did a clinic on a Friday night for him, and half of the people there couldn't speak English. I demonstrated some drills, and he interpreted some for me. Afterwards he got some feedback and said, 'The people were excited and enthused at your passion, how much you loved what you were doing, and the energy and intensity that you showed in what you did.' The language didn't matter; they could see it in my actions."

Peterson has seen this connection many times since then.

"I think players see that, too," he said. "If you work with them long enough, they realize that. Trust isn't something that's built up in a day or a night. Trust takes a long time to develop. It's an everyday thing.

"They can see how you relate with them every day, what you think, and how you treat them."

Tony Brown, who played for the Bucks with Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak, entered the NBA coaching ranks a decade ago with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was reunited with his former teammate when he was named to Krystkowiak's staff on June 5, 2007.

Brown coached the Bucks' entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. And when he wasn't on the sidelines coaching the Bucks, he was in the bleachers observing Yi Jianlian, the Bucks' first-round draft pick, who was playing in the league with the Chinese National Team.

He looked on with watchful eyes and came away impressed with what he saw.

"I wasn't able to hear any dialogue," Brown said. "From what I understand, his national team coach, who is from Lithuania, spoke English to most of the guys.

"I knew there was some English in Yi's background, and he has been taking classes. Watching him, it became pretty clear that communicating wouldn't be too big of a hurdle for him."

James witnessed Yi's Vegas performance, too, and realized the Bucks were getting a prized pupil.

"I watched Yi play four of his five games in Las Vegas," James said. "I could tell by the way he was coached that he understands basketball. When the official would call traveling, or whatever, he knew exactly what was going on.

"This guy is young in years, but I think he's a very experienced basketball player, and I don't think that the English language will be hard to deal with in terms of getting things across to him."

Todd believes one of the keys to effective communication is envisioning having the shoe on the other foot.

"It's funny," he said. "When we have to go abroad to do things, we find out what it's like for European players when they come over here. You have to put yourself in their shoes.

"They're trying to adjust to everybody, and we only have to adjust to one. You just do your best."

Krystkowiak has learned that he can count on that every time he looks down his bench.