Raso inks three-year deal
The Niagara River Lions have locked up their bench boss for the next seasons.
Niagara has signed head coach and general manager Victor Raso to a three-year contract extension.
“That was really nice. I have always been on one-year contracts with the River Lions and a lot of that was because it was a new league,” the 2024 St. Catharines Sportsperson of the Year said. “Now we’ve settled in, won a championship and the long-term projection of where this league is going is really good. It is the longest contract in the short history of our league and I am very grateful to the River Lions for that.”
The longest-tenured head coach in Canadian Elite Basketball League history has no plans to change the way he does business despite the three-year deal.
“We still don’t give out multi-year contracts so how we structure the team and how I do my job does not change now because there is a little more security. At the end of the day, this is professional sports and lots of coaches have long-term contracts. If you don’t do the job then you’re looking for another one.”
Raso, who has a regular season record of 66-32 and a playoff record of 5-5, describes the role of coach/general manager as a double-edged sword.
“The coach part of me always thinks I can get more out of a player or I can fix a situation and sometimes a GM with a more distant or fresher perspective can put the bug in your ear and say we can’t or we don’t have time,” the 2019 CEBL Coach of the Year said. “That part of it is difficult but our season is so short and compact and I have tried to have an assistant GM in the past. If they are not there every day and don’t understand the salary cap and exactly what I am looking for, it can get really difficult. We don’t have a lot of time to make mistakes on chemistry or explaining things properly and getting the most out of guys right off the bat.”
Wrestling with the salary cap is one of the most challenging parts of the job.
“That is incredibly important and I don’t think anybody knows it as well as I do now because I have been in it every single year. As the league has gotten bigger, they have added more wrinkles to it and I have had to be more creative this year that I have ever had.”
It is a big part of his job as general manager.
“I live on a spreadsheet every single day, mapping out a million scenarios. And for us it is even more complicated because not everybody (players) shows up at the beginning of the year due to their commitments,” Raso said. “That’s where being the coach and GM is very advantageous because I get to tell guys what their contract is going to be and how that directly affects what they are going to be asked to do on the floor and the role they are going to have.”
Raso is ever-evolving as a coach/GM.
“I do a lot of things better. I have become much more experienced in terms of how to communicate expectations and making sure I am saying the difficult things very directly so that there is an opportunity for trust right off the bat. Those are things I have always tried to do but I have just gotten better at it.”
As a coach, he has figured out what works for him and he is able to communicate that better.
“I have a bigger picture in my brain and I’m not trying to figure myself out or learn like I was in my earlier years even though that is always going to happen. I have a better sense of who I am and what I want as a coach.”
As a general manager, he has determined what makes a winning basketball player and what qualities makes a player good.
“I have lost my way a little bit looking at flashy talent and the cooler things but last year I got back to my roots that I learned growing up. What makes players good are guys who can impact winning in many ways and guys who are willing to be one of five on the court and one of 10-12 off the court. Getting guys like that in the door gives you a better opportunity to reach your potential as a team.”
He will no longer waver on those things like he has done in the past.
The next step in his progression will come from the same thing he preaches every day to the players on his Ridley College prep basketball squad.
“Stay where your feet are, do the best job you can today and don’t be hung up on results, be hung up on the process,” he said. “We won last year and if the ball had bounced our way a couple of times earlier, we would have won two. I have the same responses to the losses and the wins. You have to review it all and make sure you’re not thinking you are the greatest thing in the world. Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.”
River Lions president Michelle Biskup is happy to have Raso inked for the next there seasons.
“Victor embodies everything we stand for as an organization – professionalism, passion, dedication and a relentless drive to succeed,” she said. “We couldn’t be prouder of his achievements and we’re excited to continue building a championship-calibre team under his leadership for years to come.”
Training camp will to open May 8 with the home opener scheduled for May 16 versus the Calgary Surge. Ticket information can be found at www.riverlions.ca/tickets or by calling 289-273-5905.
