Al Dwairi uses lessons from Obradovic, Ivkovic to help Jordan

SHENZHEN (China) - If you see Ahmad Al Dwairi pull one of his teammates over to him at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 it could be to remind him to pay attention to the small details of the game. That's something that the Jordan big man learned from two of the greatest coaches in history.

Al Dwairi played a major role in Jordan getting back to the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2010, averaging 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in five games in the Asian Qualifiers. But you cannot just look at the 6ft 11in (2.10m) center's numbers when you look at his impact.

The 26-year-old just finished his fifth season in Turkey, where he played one year with Anadolu Efes and the last three seasons at Fenerbahce and most importantly, learned the game from two of the greatest basketball minds - Dusan Ivkovic and Zeljko Obradovic.

"I am so lucky for that. I started with Dusan Ivkovic and then for three years I have been with Coach Obradovic. They are at another level," said Al Dwairi, who is known in European basketball circles under the name Ahmet Duverioglu. "They teach you basketball. They teach you how to play. They have helped me and my game with a lot of things."

Al Dwairi said that playing with the Jordan national team has not stopped him communicating with Obradovic, who coached Yugoslavia to the 1998 World Cup title and the FIBA EuroBasket 1997 crown, not to mention silver at the 1996 Olympics and nine European club crowns.

"Even now here in China I keep talking to Coach Obradovic, and he is telling me what to do in some situations in games, even if it's a different system," said Al Dwairi, who won one EuroLeague crown with Obradovic at Fenerbahce. 

“WHEN I COME BACK (TO JORDAN) SOMETIMES I TALK TO THE PLAYERS TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS."

When asked about what makes those two coaches - Ivkovic was the 1990 World Cup winner and two-time FIBA EuroBasket champion as coach as well as silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics with Yugoslavia - so great, Al Dwairi said it is the small things.

"They teach you everything: the details, all the details. They give you everything. They tell you what your job is in the game and on the team. They give you knowledge about everything in basketball: how to move, how to play."

Al Dwairi also learned how to deal with a coach who isn't afraid to scream at his players - something that Obradovic is well known for doing.

"I know it looks on the outside that he yells all the time. But he wants to win. He wants to be better and wants you to be better. He told me, if I am not yelling at you that just means that I don't like you. If I am going at you it means that I like you and I want to make you better," Al Dwairi said.

Ahmad Al Dwairi and Zaid Abbas have loads of experience to pass to Jordan's younger players

Al Dwairi is making sure he is not the only one to benefit from the experience he is gaining. He is taking that Obradovic knowledge to his Jordanian teammates - maybe not the screaming though.

"When I come back here sometimes I talk to the players to look at the details because they are very important and make a big difference. You can see the level. We are paying more attention to details and that makes us look better as Jordanians," said Al Dwairi, who was born to a Jordanian father and Turkish mother.

So if you see Al Dwairi talking to one of his younger teammates in Shenzhen, there's a good chance that he is discussing some of the small details he learned from two of the coaching legends in Europe.

FIBA