Vincent Collet goes behind the scenes of his new role at the Cavaliers

Visiting Marseille this week for the final seminar of the “Coaches Plan” set up by the National Sports Agency (ANS), bringing together all French coaches, Vincent Collet honored his last request as coach of the French basketball team, at the end of a brilliant Olympiad for French team sport.

In a long interview for Le MéridionalVincent Collet spoke about his journey at the head of the Blues, the contribution of the ANS high performance unit to the heart of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but also his new role as consultant within the Cavaliers, who have not not yet lost since his former assistant in Blue, Kenny Atkinson, took the reins of the team. His return to Cleveland is scheduled for next week.

Diving into “another world”

“I've been to Cleveland before and I'm going back next week. I go there almost every month. I watch all the Cavs games which are having an incredible start to the season. That's great for Kenny. I don't know if it will last, but so far it's impressive.”he said.

The former French coach returned to his first steps within the franchise, in a role which would be similar to that of an assistant, at the heart of Kenny Atkinson's system. A real arsenal even…

“It’s another world. It has nothing to do with it. Before I also went there as a visitor occasionally, there I already spent around ten days in pre-season, I was immersed, I lived like an assistant, I was at all the training sessions, all the coaches' meetings. It's impressive: there are around fifteen coaches for the team! It remains an interesting experience which allows you to see what things are like inside”he added.

In any case, this role of assistant allows him to be as close as possible to the action and to gain experience in a universe that he continues to discover from the inside. Ultimately, it is an assistant position rather than head coach that he would be aiming for for the moment. “Maybe it will happen, but it might be interesting to take on a full assistant role”he slipped.

Lots of “protectionism”

Vincent Collet was finally questioned about the relative absence of foreign coaches in the NBA, while the league has become international on the floor for twenty years. It is therefore also an opportunity for him to contribute to gradually changing mentalities across the Atlantic, with the support of Francophile Kenny Atkinson.

“I measured it when I arrived in Cleveland. There is a lot of protectionism, you can feel it”he confirmed. “But I saw as the days went by that the attitude of the other coaches changed; it was also driven by Kenny, who installed me. We need to take a step back on this subject. We'll see. This position (as a consultant) could allow me to evolve. I am already going to try to take advantage of this situation and live it to the fullest.”

Vincent Collet also trusts the young generation of coaches and players to continue to make French basketball shine at the highest level. “We are seeing young coaches emerge, like Julien Mahé or Guillaume Vizade. Others are also arriving in Pro B. We can hope for an improvement in the situation, in any case that is what I hope. »