Between two NBA nights, we sat down with a pair of cainris to discuss French basketball. What view of the players who have known Madison Square Garden and the neck of Blake Griffin, do they have on our beautiful national championship? For you, John Jenkins and Dante Cunningham answer our questions. So, rather Line Renaud or John Stockton?
Selected in 33rd position of the 2009 Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Dante Cunningham was this role player capable of helping out properly on position 4. He still is. His good service to the Pelicans between 2014 and 2018 is not that far off. Three years after his last dance in the Spurs jersey, the 2m03 strong winger averages 9.9 points, 4 rebounds and 0.7 assist at 49% shooting including 33% at 3-points, on the floor of Yannick Noah and Commander Cousteau. Le Mans is having a superb season and sits in fifth place in the French championship. The collective record is less flashy for John Jenkins, chosen in 23rd position in the 2012 Draft by the Hawks. Gravelines is tenth with a negative record of 10 wins for 11 losses. But in the doldrums of a team that has not yet found its rhythm, the leader of 1m93 still sends 12.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists to 43% in shooting including 38% of the car park. Pretty leftovers from an era of G League dominance.
Hi guys. Well, you’ve been in France for a little less than seven months. How did your integration go?
John Jenkins: Gravelines is a small town, there’s not much to do. But everyone has been super nice, on and off the pitch. We have the people we need around us to recover well. My teammates all speak English. It’s a great experience for me and my family.
Dante Cunningham: The integration into life here was slow, at first, very slow. We had to overcome the language barrier. Like John said cities are smaller, so you don’t go out too much. But they are very beautiful cities! My teammates also speak English so it’s very easy to play basketball.
How do you find the level here? You both played in the NCAA, in China, in the NBA…
JJ: The championship is great, especially for a fullback like me. I am defended hard and it is very physical. Every game I try to find different ways to be open and efficient for my team. Compared to other championships, I would say that the Chinese is the most physical in which I played. French is the second. La Liga Endesa is at the top too. But each league has its own qualities. In France, I like how the game is open like in the NBA. There are spaces.
DC: The attacks are much longer. The defensive schemes are unique, different from other championships. It’s great to be able to discover all the facets of basketball. I like the idea that at 35 you can still learn. But on the court, I always have to be focused because the basketball here is not the one I’ve played in the last ten years.
Are there any guys who have already impressed you?
JJ: Oh, the interior of Orleans is very good. I forgot his name… Ndoye, Youssou Ndoye! He is super strong. I have already faced him several times in Spain.
DC: Honestly, I’m bad with names, I just know that we played a good group of backs in Dijon (David Holston, among others). But we stigmatize foreign championships in the United States, I understood it super quickly. Everyone is talented here, it’s just that the opportunities don’t come in the right way for some people. Every night we can play in France like we would in the NBA.
What does the daily life of a former NBA player who lives in France look like?
JJ: I train a lot, always. Other than that, I watch movies, hang out with my family, go on YouTube, and catch up on last night’s NBA games.
DC: Work never stops, so I take care of my body. And in my spare time, it’s Call of Duty. Most of the time you can catch me sitting in front of the TV playing Call of Duty *laugh half-ashamed half-proud of his bullshit*.
And the installations like, for guys who have known the moldings of Madison Square Garden, how do you find those in the area?
JJ: I haven’t seen the facilities of all the teams, but in Gravelines they are quite good. Years and experience speak. We have a jacuzzi, a cold bath. Everything is there to make it work.
DC: We have some great stuff too. In addition to the cold bath and jacuzzi, we have a sauna, physical trainers, masseurs who come and go, chiropractors. Lots of settings that help you take care of your body. Every day, they make sure you are in the best conditions for the next match.
More and more NBA veterans are arriving in France, referenced guys like Kyle O’Quinn or Dwayne Bacon. Do the players who pass echo the championship once they return to the United States? How is our advertising done?
JJ: Yeah that’s a good question. I really do not know. My agent has been offering me the French championship for a few seasons and this year he was the best option for me. The pandemic helped a little, many were looking for financial stability. But it’s a big championship and I wanted to try it once no matter what.
DC: This championship is just a great opportunity to progress. I keep saying it but nothing is ever the same in basketball. From one league to another, you never learn the same thing twice. Whether it’s left-handed or right-handed dribble, or discovering new moves, you know you can always improve.
Dante, we remember your tap on Blake Griffin in the first round of the 2012 Playoffs, under the jersey of the Grizzlies, the late grit-and-grind era. John, Madison Square Garden was your venue. When you arrive in a foreign championship with this baggage, is it so easy to manage your ego?
JJ: For me it’s very easy, I’ve always been humble, this kind of thing never scares me. I bought into the culture. The thing is, you don’t have to compare to the NBA because it’s not the NBA and you just have to be open-minded. And like Dante said, a lot of guys are extremely good and just haven’t had the right opportunities. It’s very tough here, very competitive. The level should not be taken as a joke.
DC: Being humble will help you a lot with other players. They can sense your energy. A guy who comes just for the big shots, it’s their league, they will know how to put him in his place. If you don’t want to go out, if you are too aggressive or you don’t have your tongue in your pocket, they make sure to make you understand that you are the foreigner and that it is up to you. adapt. Through experience, the NBA stage ultimately makes this cultural acclimatization easier.
John, you were scoring 20 points per game your senior year at Vanderbilt. Dante, a good 16 points and 7 rebounds on average at Villanova. With the Ignite Team, the Euroleague – the French championship therefore – and even Australia, is the NCAA still the “golden path” to get to the NBA?
JJ: When we were still in the NCAA, it was difficult to come to the NBA from abroad. But no one really knew how to dive into it. Personally, college was one of the best times of my life, but if I was a teenager today and needed the money, I would move overseas. You have to make sacrifices, work hard and understand that it’s a business.
DC: Before you were in university for several years, finished your course and the opportunity to enter the NBA presented itself or not. But now it’s guys from all over the world. Some we never heard of, or some who excelled in high school who went overseas before coming back for the draft. There are so many ways to get to the NBA that all you have to do is make a plan, stick to it, and crush everything in your path.
Le Mans moves to Gravelines next Sunday. One visits the other. Thirteen games from the end of the regular season, how are your respective groups feeling?
JJ: We need to do more. For the moment we are not in the Playoffs so we have to finish strong with these last thirteen games. Especially at home. With my injury, those of Brandon (Brandon Taylor, editor’s note) and Marcquise (Marcquise Reed, editor’s note), a lot of glitches have happened to our team. We feel pretty good at the moment but there is still work to be done.
DC: One game at a time. We really need that to solidify our place in the Top 4 and ensure home advantage in the Playoffs. On a personal level, I was brought here to bring experience, insight and wisdom to young people. Build a real thing with it. We have young talents supervised by referenced veterans, I just want to continue the exchange of knowledge and experience all the possibilities with these guys.
Is staying in France next year possible?
JJ: Anything is possible for me. I really like this place, it’s great and the people are professional, but you also can’t bet on it when you’re an American overseas. So anything is possible.
DC: Certainly. I would love to be with these guys and keep building in the right direction so we can be a great team in the years to come.
Each choose an NBA player and a player from the French championship to build a 3v3 team.
JJ : *Laughs as he probably imagines Ludovic Beyhurst sending Joel Embiid into orbit* I will go with Kevin Durant and Brandon Taylor, a guy from my team.
DC: I would say Anthony Davis and… *long thought* and Scott Bamforth, a guy on my team too.
Very corporate guys. Thank you for your time and have a good end of the season.
The BCM Gravelines – Le Mans SB meeting will be broadcast live on beIN SPORTS, Sunday at 6 p.m., as part of the 22th Betclic ELITE day.
