A collective demonstration and a great individual performance. Difficult to achieve a better start for Nolan Traore on the European scene. Opening of the Basketball Champions LeagueSaint-Quentin largely won against the Greeks of Kolossos Rhodes (84-54).
And the French playmaker had a lot to do with this great victory: 27 points (9/18 on shots including 4/10 on 3-pointers), 5 assists and 2 interceptions for 25 ratings. And a +25 in favor of his team when he was in play.
In addition to showing confidence in his outside shooting, the 18-year-old especially did great damage with his penetration game, sometimes ending up in the circle despite contact.
“ It makes me happy for him. He had a slightly complicated first two matches in the league, even if it was better at Le Mans. There, this evening, he did what is expected of him, what he knows how to do. Good aggression, he was also skillful on the shot because he shot in rhythm. And then there is a stat that I really like this evening, it is that he loses zero balls “, appreciates his coach Julien Mahé.
A match he “needed”
After two matches in Betclic Elite, won by Saint-Quentin, his young prodigy only averaged 6 points, with a lot of clumsiness when shooting with the ball in hand (4.5 lost balls on average).
“ It will give him confidence. He needed to have a match like that, I'm glad it happened this early in the season. I wasn't at all worried about his performances. But it will do him good, it also does everyone good to know that we can have him at this level », continues his coach.
“ I feel really good. Physically, very good. Everything is fine. We are entering the season, everything is going well so so much the better », Says Nolan Traoré, aware that his club had not experienced European competitions for more than thirty years. “ The coach told us. Obviously, we know that it’s been a long time since we’ve been in the European Cup. So we were even more motivated to play. »
His team logically takes the lead in group C, before the meeting between the Spaniards of Tenerife and the Turks of Karsiyaka.
Photo BCL
