AFP Photos / Editing HuffPost
Between the Blues of Gabby Williams and the Blues of Victor Wambayama, the two French basketball teams do not present themselves with equal composure for the draw for the Olympic tournaments that will take place this Tuesday, March 19 in Switzerland.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS – Four months before the meeting of a lifetime, the Olympic Games at home, the basketball players of the French team will see the challenge become more evident this Tuesday, March 19. And for good reason: Penny Taylor, a two-time Olympic silver medalist with Australia, and Carmelo Anthony, a three-time American Olympic champion, will advance to the evening’s 5-on-5 basketball tournament draw in Switzerland.
An event that would allow the French to know their opponents and imagine a little more clearly the scale of the task awaiting them. Except as it stands, the two French teams are far from being on equal footing. A short three-point comparison between these women and their male counterparts.
· Adversity: Group of Death for Boys?
The main question in the draw is obviously to know the identity of your opponents. French basketball players will be fixed on this little game this Tuesday: since the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (TQO) at the beginning of February, they know who are the eleven teams they can meet during the summer fortnight.
In this case, with the exception of the untouchable Americans who have won seven consecutive Olympic titles, the Blues can blindly beat every team. While they don’t have a clear advantage. We obviously think of the defeat of more than 30 points that they imposed on China after the mass demonstration. Perhaps the most impressive win since Jean-Aime Taupne was coach.
On the other hand for boys, the draw is organized without informing the entire field. We have to wait until the beginning of July and the TQOs arranged in the four corners of the planet for the last four to qualify. And this will not be without consequence as some great CVs could fill the pool: Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, eternal Spanish rivals, Latvia who fell into the blues during the last World Cup and Lithuania with its many NBA stars could all qualify. Many obstacles in the way of the French medal. The only certainty is that the USA will not be in their group.
· Workforce: A well-established collective and question ” Wemby »
Especially because before thinking about opponents, the French have to think about them. And the 12 men selected to try for the podium at Bercy on 10 August. With a 2.24-meter puzzle to solve: How to integrate the incredible Victor Vembanyama, who has never rubbed shoulders with other NBA players in a blue jersey?
A rich man’s problem, certainly, but the problem is the same. Because between Nicolas Batum and Nando De Coloni in their thirties, who should be experiencing their last international campaign, captains Rudy Gobert and Ivan Fournier who don’t have the profile to lead a team in their own right, and a bunch of youngsters and role players,” Wemby » Blues can become a central part of the organization. And this from his first competition, with no experience with his teammates. In short: we have to find automation fast.
In blues, the pool can be just as dense, but the repetitions are more frequent, which should make the final selection easier. Thus, during TQO where France crushed China, the stunning Marin Johannes made her comeback as did Gabby Williams. And Jean-Am warned Taupe: he wants to keep a group ” Expand, maybe around twenty players “, from which he will then draw,” Injuries, Forms and Defects » Helper “Apparently » In this mission.
· Dynamics: Realize or Bounce Back?
And for good reason: the blues’ progression curve speaks for them. During the World Cup at the end of 2022, a highly rejuvenated team gained experience. During Euro 2023, despite being absent, the French brought home the bronze medal after missing out on the semi-final against the Belgians. And during the famous TQO in February, they showed that they were in full swing, finally done. With two months to go before the Games, they should have time for the first round of the Olympics, to complete their automation and field the most competitive team possible in Lille.
In men, on the contrary, it is uncertainty that dominates. EuroBasket 2022, with a miraculous victory, turned into a silver medal that looked like a consolation prize. And at the last World Cup, in September 2023, the Blues were eliminated after two short matches, even though the French had for weeks proclaimed their dream of gold. It’s enough to question the composition of the squad and especially the position given to the very young Vembanyama, as inexperienced as he is (already) devastating in the NBA.
It must be said that the men’s calendar does not help to build the team: apart from the main competitions, the selection matches take place in the middle of the NBA season, which forces the selectors to choose only players who play in Europe. And so to deprive themselves of their best elements. ” There is a game project to move forward, a team that we don’t know yet, with different players, which will provide more options and solutions in attack. », Vincent Collett recognized in this regard at the end of February. A way of saying that the Blues will attend the Olympic draw with much less certainty, but certainly no less hope than the Blues this Tuesday.
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