Great Britain coach Marc Steutel says isn’t worried about the war between Super League Basketball (SLB) and the British Basketball Federation (BBF). Nor is he focused on the players that haven’t made it to Finland. On the eve of his side’s EuroBasket 2025 opener, Steutel just wants to focus on what he can control.
Marc Steutel, the Great Britain basketball head coach, told BallinEurope that the ongoing war between the BBF and SLB has not impacted his side’s preparations for EuroBasket 2025. Great Britain open their campaign on Wednesday against Lithuania. Steutel said he’s not letting the off-court issues impact his side’s preparations.
“We understand that there are things outside of our control in the United Kingdom that are publicised. My job is to make sure our group is completely aligned to what our goals are. We understand the history of Great Britain in EuroBasket,” Steutel told BallinEurope.
“We’ve always been a team that has qualified more times than not but we only have 4 wins in EuroBasket history. Two in 2011, two in 2013, none in 2017 and none in 2022. My focus has been with our group. My focus day to day has been on making sure we’re the best version of ourselves. I’ve been solely focused on that, our staff have, our players have, and we’re really excited to get going.”
Under the radar
There are no British* media outlets on site in Tampere to cover Great Britain at EuroBasket 2025. This was also the case in 2022 in Milano and 2017 in Istanbul. There are, for comparison, around 30 representatives of media outlets in Lithuania who Great Britain face on Wednesday.
“We have a few media outlets in the UK. Hoopsfix with Sam Neter is exceptional. We have other journalists. I look at someone like Sam Neter, where Hoopsfix has done a great job at profiling players from a young age,” said Steutel.
“We’re always swimming uphill against the tide to prove that we belong as a basketball nation. Sam has done a really good job. The coverage that we do get helps grow our game.”
*There were British journalists working for FIBA at some of these tournaments.
BallinEurope is ramping up its YouTube game this season. Subscribe to our channel now for player exclusives, analysis videos, and much more.
Notable absentees
While Great Britain is far from alone in missing some key players at EuroBasket 2025, Marc Steutel’s side has still been forced to adapt to some key players missing out. While the likes of OG Anunoby and Admiral Schofield are often mentioned eligible, their status has never been confirmed and neither has ever been actively involved with the Great Britain national team. It’s players like Quinn Ellis (Olimpia Milano) and Tosun Evbuomwan (Brooklyn Nets) that stand out as notable absentees.
“Quinn Ellis played an instrumental part in us qualifying but, unfortunately, the stars didn’t align. There are others that I have been asked about. Each of those is a different situation,” said Steutel.
“My mentality is that we control what we can control. I’m proud of the 12 players that have made the final roster. Throughout this process we’ve made challenging decisions and I’m really proud of the group that we’ve got.”
BallinEurope has a book, a real life actual book called I Like it Loud, and you can buy it on Amazon now. It’s here as a book and here in Kindle form.
Down to business
You have to go all the way back to 8 September 2013 for the last time Great Britain won a game at EuroBasket, a victory over Germany. With Lithuania awaiting in their opener of EuroBasket 2025 on Wednesday, Steutel said he is aware of the scale of the challenge.
“I’m really excited to be here, to open our campaign tomorrow. I’m really proud of how our group has worked throughout our preparation. We understand where we are as a basketball nation. That realisation and awareness drives us. We know that everytime we compete at this level, we will always be the underdogs and that’s a mentality that we embrace,” he said.
“There are some exceptional coaches here, ones that I look up to. It’s fascinating to see how different coaches approach national team basketball, and it makes me reflect on it. The job of national team basketball is to maximise the strength of the group that you have. There are many nations here that find a way to do that.”
Leave a Reply