After the formalization of its sports director Antoine Michon, Nantes Basket Hermine announced the signing of Thomas Hieu-Courtois (2m, 26 years old) for the next two seasons. The Martinican strong winger does not arrive in unknown territory since he had already worked with Jean-Marc Dupraz in Lille, between 2019 and 2020. Preview at the end of last season with SIG Strasbourg in Betclic ELITE (5 games), he has solid experience in the division. Blois, Aix-Maurienne and Lille… He played six seasons in Pro B. His last, still with Lille, is also the most successful: in 29 games, he runs at 12.7 points at 47.3% shooting success, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists for 14.1 rating in 26 minutes.
“A player who still has a great capacity for development”
“He is a player with a real evolution in his game for 3/4 seasons”, explains Jean-Marc Dupraz in the club press release. “Thomas is a JFL (Locally Trained Player) referenced in position 4 and, beyond being a major player in the division, it is his versatility that I find interesting: a position 4 that can evolve on the positions 3 and 5. He still has room for improvement and is part of the club’s approach to evolve with a player who still has a good capacity for development. »
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The NBH seems to prioritize the JFL market since according to our information, Assane Ndoye (1.96 m, 26 years old) should move from Haute-Vienne to Loire-Atlantique. From Limoges to Nantes. Landed at Cercle-Saint-Pierre after three last seasons at Chalon-sur-Saône, he had the opportunity to find Romain Chenaud, his trainer at Élan. The native of Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne) was the X factor of the CSP: able to be very good one day and miss the next day. Beyond his statistics (5.5 points at 53.3% shooting success and 2.4 rebounds for 5.7 evaluation in 14 minutes), it is his versatility and this ability to play from position 3 at post 5 which must have seduced.
After a very disappointing 2021-2022 season, the NBH is starting a new cycle with its doublet Antoine Michon – Jean-Marc Dupraz. Thomas Hieu-Courtois is the first stone and Assane Ndoye should follow and join Terry Smith and Kévin Dinal, still under contract with the NBH.
