The trajectory ofHugo Besson was dazzling. Already noticed when he played in the championship hopes with Chalon-sur-Saône, the son of Jean-Paul Besson (assistant at the Metropolitans of Boulogne-Levallois) and nephew of Jean-Philippe Besson (director of the training center of Fos Provence Basket ) shone in Pro B for his first professional season with Saint-Quentin in 2020/21. With choice performances, such as a 30-point tip, decisive baskets and a title of top scorer in the division that no French player had won before him in the previous twenty years (19.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists decisive per game).
Everything is in place for his rise to continue, as the NBA now looks on him softly and he is now established in the NBL, the Australian first division, a championship which acts as a source of young talent for the NBA, with Josh Giddey as the latest ambassador of choice for this fairly recent connection.
In the Top 20 of the best scorers in the league with 14 points per game (38% success), but also 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists, Hugo Besson continues to put all the chances on his side to slowly approach the big leap, with the Draft 2022 which could make it switch to a whole new universe. Maintenance.
Hugo Besson, how do you see yourself in terms of profile? Rather station 2 when you were trained more in station 1?
I was really trained in both positions. I really played 1 and 2 throughout my training course, between Antibes and Chalon. Frankly, I don’t have a job that I feel most comfortable with. That’s what I like by the way, this versatility. I prefer that rather than being a strict position 2 or simply playing leader. That’s what I like about my game, being able to play both. I like both profiles.
“As soon as I shot, I knew it was going to go in. I even found myself taking shots that were sometimes a bit daring. But when you know that everything is going to fit, you feel good! “
Your professional career really took off in Saint-Quentin, how did you end up there?
It was done in the form of a loan from Chalon-sur-Saône, where I was not thought capable of playing in Pro A. So I was sent to Saint-Quentin. In the end, it turned out to be really the best place I could fall. We had a great season collectively, and individually it was great too. And even around, whether it’s the people who work at the club or the supporters, everything was really on top.
Do you remember the state of mind in which you arrived, and what the club expected of you?
Already, I was very happy to go there. I had heard good things, had good feedback, very good contacts with Julien Mahé, the coach, and Eric Lecomte, the physical trainer. When I arrived, things went very well very quickly. The club had been promoted to Pro B for two seasons, the objective at the start of the season was clearly maintenance. Then on the field, I still wanted to show what I was capable of. I was sent to Pro B, and it was up to me to show that it was not my place, that I could play at the level above.
Let’s talk about your very first professional league match with Saint-Quentin, on the first day on the Fos-sur-Mer floor. You line up six 3-point baskets in a row in the last quarter and the SQBB fails two small points from the future first in the division. What memories do you have of this game?
It’s true that it was a cool moment. Afterwards, we had lost so it was a bit of a shame. But it’s true that as a player it’s an incredible feeling. As soon as I fired, I knew it was going to go in. I even found myself taking shots that were sometimes a bit daring. But when you know that everything is going to fit, you feel good! In addition, there were a lot of family in the room with my uncle, my aunt and my cousins. So I already felt good. And afterwards, when you catch fire, behind, everything comes in.
There was really a special atmosphere in the room…
It’s true that as soon as I started my series, I saw people looking at each other at each basket, wondering what was happening. It was a nice moment.
The day Hugo Besson caught fire, in his first league match in Pro B (28 points at 6/9 at 3-points)
Is there another moment in this season that marked a turning point for you?
I see it more over long periods than specifically over a match. I would say that the first phase, I was good, I managed to adapt, to shoot 15-16 points per game. I was trying to take the hit and be consistent. But I have the feeling that on the second phase, I took on another dimension. I felt that I had progressed in my game, that I had become a really dominant player. Afterwards, I worked hard on my body every day, before and after training. I didn’t ask myself any questions, I played my game. The coach had complete confidence in me, and that also helps a lot. Even if you make mistakes, your coach keeps pushing you, he doesn’t take you out to punish you, that’s super important too. It wasn’t just me, it was all the management that also made it possible for me to reach this level.
Can we say that your individual progress was enhanced by the collective performance of the SQBB that year?
Well, that was it. What we achieved that year was not the result of my personal work. We were in a great club, with great leaders, the staff was top, the players were more than teammates. We had all the ingredients that made us perform. I remember, when we went to training, to matches, we went there to have fun. It was just fun, just love.
“The options were Vitoria, ASVEL, Monaco and the Breakers”
When did the specter of the NBA appear for you?
It is during this season in Saint-Quentin. It’s the second half of the season itself, when I was really starting to explode and that’s when it started to talk a bit about the NBA around me. At all games, and at practices, there were starting to be NBA scouts. There is Mike Schmitz from DraftExpress who came to see a match. It was more and more constant, there was always someone, whether it was a scout, a GM, it started to gravitate around me.
At the end of the season, what were the options on the table and why did you opt for the New Zealand Breakers?
The options were Vitoria, ASVEL, Monaco and the Breakers. The Breakers are the ones I liked the most. It was the project that seemed to suit me best. I really liked the double project, between the life experience and the basketball side. I thought it was really a great opportunity in both cases. I think it’s the best place to accompany me to the NBA. That was the goal, to put all the chances on my side to get there.
Continuing in France didn’t seem like a good option to you? Like at the Metropolitans for example, a team that plays the leading roles in BetClic Elite and where your father is an assistant?
No, as far as I’m concerned, that was never an option considered.
How’s it going so far at The Breakers? Are you satisfied with your choice?
It’s going pretty well. It’s a good season, we play good matches. Collectively it’s a little more complicated, but it also forges me. There are ups and downs. It’s not an easy season, but it makes me grow, both as a man and in the game. I also have a bit more constant pressure because it’s an important year for me. It’s not the year or never, but it’s the year where you have to be present. It’s tough, but so far it’s going pretty well.
Does the health situation complicate things a bit?
In Australia, we don’t really feel the impact of the Covid, apart from the obligation to wear a mask in certain closed places. But other than that, there’s no gauge in the rooms. It’s more to come to Australia that the procedures are complicated. But once you’re there, there are no more constraints than that. The championship should have started earlier. It was a little delayed because of the Covid. But now that it’s started, it’s rolling. It’s not like last year in Pro B where we had to stop and play 25 games in two months afterwards. There, the season has just been shifted by a month and a half.
Are you getting back to the level of play you expected?
Yes. I expected a high level championship, and it is clear that I have been served. There are Australian internationals, former NBA players, a mixture of all that. So the level is quite high.
His last game played on Sunday against defending champion Melbourne United (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br-Bf9KXa4A
Beyond the sporting aspect, humanly, how is it going?
Yes, that side is really nice. I live in Melbourne, it was not one of the places where I thought I would live one day in my life. It’s a crazy experience. I would have lived in Melbourne, it’s quite exceptional. Of course, I miss France. Both have their pros and cons. It’s going to be nine months since I’ve been home, since I’ve seen my family, my friends, so it’s starting to tickle a bit anyway.
“I’ve always liked Derrick Rose, although now he’s a little less impressive. I was always a fan of this player growing up.”
What are the next deadlines for you?
For the moment, I don’t think about it too much. I really leave that to my agents, Bouna (Ndiaye) and Jérémy (Medjana), who take care of it. I do everything to stay focused on my season, to take the matches one after the other, and we will see what happens, the options that will present themselves, at the end. The NBA is always very present, whether it’s with each publication of Mock Drafts, the scouts who come to see you, it’s constantly there.
Do you manage to project yourself on a career in the NBA in the years to come?
Honestly, no. For the moment I am fully in my project which is to succeed in progressing here. I’m not planning too much yet. Afterwards, it is sure that when I watch a match, I say to myself: ‘Maybe next year I will play against such a player’. That’s mostly it. But it doesn’t go any further. The NBA is such a different universe, where everything is oversized. It’s already a step to adapt to it and prepare for the level of play in this league.
Do you look a little more at the rookies or the young French people who face these challenges? Players like Josh Giddey for example…
Yes, since he went through the NBL, he is followed here. He had a good season in the NBL and was able to transfer that to the NBA by also having a good rookie season. For the moment, I’m also having a rather good season in the Australian championship. I tell myself why I wouldn’t be able to manage to perform there too?
Do we also talk about it in the environment of the Breakers?
Yes of course. It is the mission of the staff, to prepare me as well as possible by concocting a program to ensure that I am ready in different aspects compared to the NBA level. The physical is completely part of it. It’s muscle every day. Already, in Saint-Quentin, I was working like crazy on this with Eric Lecomte. They were already daily bodybuilding sessions, even after matches, even on days off. Over the past year, I have gained eight kilos. There we are in continuity.
Is there an NBA franchise that you particularly like? And what are the backs or leaders that impress you?
A franchise, not really. I would say that the idea would be above all to find myself in a place where I can play my game, have fun and develop myself at best. Being in an environment where I already feel good would be the best. Player-wise, I’ve always liked Derrick Rose, although now he’s a little less impressive. I was always a fan of this player growing up. If I had to choose just one, it would be him.
