Moradi-Nasab: Golnoor build for the long run through player development
Mehdi Moradi-Nasab of the Golnoor basketball team spoke to ISNA about the side's condition and the club's approach to player development. Golnoor face Esteghlal Tehran on Thursday evening, 14 Aban, in week three of Iran's men's Premier League, from 16:15 at Mokhaberat Hall; both teams lost their first two games and are chasing a first win of the season.
A third season at Golnoor
Moradi-Nasab, now in his third season with the club, called Golnoor one of the country's professional basketball organisations, with solid infrastructure and facilities. Working with a club that has clear goals has been valuable for him, and he hopes to contribute to its progress alongside the rest of the staff.
Player development, the club's strength
He named the long-term plan for developing players across age groups as one of Golnoor's greatest strengths. That approach, he said, is why new players have reached the Premier League this season, many of them raised in the Golnoor academy. A club succeeds when it develops talented players and brings them to the top level of Iranian basketball, not only when it wins games.
The start of the season, and the time coordination takes
The road ahead is hard, he said, especially early in the season, when players need time to gel. The team is improving step by step and the technical and tactical details are being executed better, the squad's motivation is high, and everyone is trying to deliver through togetherness and collective work.
Coordination and mutual understanding
Moradi-Nasab described coordination and mutual understanding as among the most important factors in any basketball team's success. Individual ability alone does not win games: unity, mutual trust and responsibility decide whether a team reaches its goals. The more the players train and compete together, the stronger that understanding becomes, and two training sessions a day help cohesion over the long run.
Calm and experience in decisive moments
He called mental calm, confidence, focus and experience decisive in tight games, adding that an experienced coaching staff able to make the right call in decisive moments matters, and Golnoor has one. Daily training is about being ready for every situation: in basketball a single correct decision or one defensive stop in the final seconds can change the result, and the aim is to make those calls calmly.
Fans, the sixth man
Spectators, he said, are an inseparable part of any team; fans are the sixth man, their support adds motivation and counts in difficult moments. We want to see Isfahan's basketball halls full: their presence gives the players energy and helps the game grow in the city.
Moradi-Nasab asked the media to stand with the team so that basketball gets more visibility and more people, especially the younger generation, come to the halls. Basketball, he added, is a dynamic and attractive sport with room for a wider audience.
The target: a fourth title
A three-time Premier League champion, he set a fourth title as his personal goal. Those championships taught him that success needs continuity, commitment, discipline, focus and, above all, collective effort. He will put all his ability and experience into that goal, but the team's success and playing a useful part in shared goals matter more to him.
Golnoor, he said, has done its part in creating professional conditions for the players, and he hopes the team can use those facilities, with unity and togetherness, to finish the season with the best possible result and the title.
Source: ISNA