One of the exciting developments for basketball in recent times has been the introduction of the FIBA Europe Coaching Certificate program.

Men and women wanting to walk the sidelines for clubs or in national team programs have the opportunity to learn from the best in the sport.

A true coaching great, Serbia's Svetislav Pesic, is the mentor for the program.

Izic is an assistant to Turkish national team coach Bogdan Tanjevic.

One of the lecturers for the FECC is Nihat Izic, a prominent face in Turkish basketball circles.

Izic has coached the stars of tomorrow in Turkey's youth teams, and is also the assistant to Bogdan Tanjevic with the senior side.

He will be with Turkey when they host the FIBA World Championship later this year.

At club level, Izic is leading Tofas Bursa in the country's top flight.

Izic answered these questions for FIBA Europe about his involvement with the coaching certificate program.

FIBA Europe: Nihat, why do you think it is important for young coaches to take part in a program like the one you are involved in at FIBA Europe?

Nihat: This is the first and only coach training program that I know of. This is a very important program for young coaches. During the education program, they are educated by four or five trainers. They are informed about how they choose players, how they build a team and how they train with them. And also they can ask the questions about the subjects they don't understand exactly. Generally, these training programs are arranged during the basketball tournament so they can have some duties in the organization, learn new things and work. All of them make them ready for the real life.

FIBA Europe: As a lecturer in the FIBA Europe Coaching Certificate Program, what are some of the key points that you cover when speaking to men and women who want to coach?

Nihat: They think, ‘How can we earn much more money'. I'm joking, of course. Being a coach isn't an easy job. To earn something in this job doesn't depend only on the person. All the situations around you should be right together at the same time. This job isn't suitable for the people who don't like it. If a person doesn't want exactly this job, he or she can't be part of it. The most important thing in the work of a trainer is watching the growth of a basketball player, and knowing that you are the part of this event as a coach because you help him to find his own way. It makes a coach feel proud.

FIBA Europe: In Turkey, you have the opportunity to coach at the highest level, as the head coach of Tofas Bursa but also as an assistant to Bogdan Tanjevic with the national team. But you also coached Turkey at the U16 European Championship. How do you compare coaching boys to men? Is one harder than the other?

Nihat: Both of them have negative and positive sides. To train a young player and make him a good player is an advantage for a trainer. During the training process, a coach will learn everything about the player so the coach can work more easily with his player after he becomes professional.

FIBA Europe: Speaking of Turkey, this is a very important year with the FIBA World Championship being staged in the country. Does it feel like a normal year to you, or is there a sense of excitement in the air that Turkey will play Greece in Ankara and then possibly advance to Istanbul to face great teams like Spain, Team USA?

Nihat: There is a huge amount of excitement. We have prepared for the World Championship for four years. We finished the last (2006) FIBA World Championship in sixth place. We are going to play in our country so we want to win a medal. This is very important for us.

FIBA Europe: What can you tell us about your start in basketball as a player? Also did you always know that one day, you would like to coach?

Nihat:  I started to play basketball in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I played for seven years in KK Bosnia. I came to Turkey when I was 23 years old. I finished my basketball career as a player after five years. I played as a point guard so I always like setting up, directing and reading the game. I did not know that I would become a trainer but I am happy now because I haven't left basketball.

FIBA Europe: Is there anything else you would like to say about the program itself?

Nihat: Unfortunately, basketball has changed over the years. Everybody has become involved in a hard competition. Everybody only cares about the results - especially the coaches who train youth teams do not give enough time for training young players. For this reason, we cannot find and train high quality players. We are trying to establish a new system in Turkey (forcing the maximum). With this system, we are trying not (only) to win a championship at least in one category in a four-year period, but we are trying to create players who have qualities to play in the NBA.