This year, Vincent Collet is celebrating his 15th anniversary at the head of the French team, and the coach knows that all he is missing is Olympic gold to complete a unique record in France: European champion, vice-champion Olympic and two bronze medals at the World Cup. To win gold, Collet will be able to count on two of the best interior players in the world, Rudy Gobert and the nugget Victor Wembanyama.
“Basketball is played on both sides of the court and we know that for our team, what they do on defense is often crucial in their performance” recalls Collet about the defensive qualities of the Gobert-Wembanyama tandem. “You have to stay measured. But actually, we have quite a few advantages inside. Beyond our two twin towers, we have other players who are also dominant throughout the season. This gives us a fairly large range of solutions. »
An integration to succeed
The Paris Olympics will mark Wembanyama's debut in a major international competition. The Spurs pivot dazzled the entire NBA, and Collet knows him perfectly well having had him under his command at Boulogne-Levallois, but also in Blue for qualifying matches.
“No, it’s not a revolution” he warns about this integration. “It’s a key asset that we will try to use as best as possible with the rest of the team, because it still remains an integration to be done, and it must be done with the others. There's no reason why it shouldn't go well. His future teammates see what he is capable of and will, I think, be eager to allow him to continue to develop. »
A future abroad?
Enthusiastic at the idea of discovering a new generation full of talent (Wemby, Coulibaly, Risacher, Sarr, etc.), Collet will wait until the end of the Olympic Games to decide on his future as “head coach”. He also doesn't rule out joining the NBA as an assistant! “It wouldn’t pose a problem to me, on the contrary. And it would be totally different in terms of responsibilities, therefore not at all polluting for the preparation of the Games. But just wanting it is not enough: there are other parameters for it to happen. I'm not sure there's any point in dreaming about it. In any case, an experience abroad would interest me: there is no debate on that” he concludes.
