Why Nadir Hifi Wasn’t Selected For The All-Star Game

If he and ESSM Le Portel play as well in their last two matches of 2022 as they have so far in December, Nadir Hifi (1.84 m, 20 years old) will probably be one of the candidates for the December MVP trophy in Betclic ELITE. However, the Alsatian was not selected for the All-Star Game of the National Basketball League, which will take place on December 29 in Bercy. This has caused a lot of criticism on social networks in recent days, even more since the announcement of the replacement of Elie Okobo by Hugo Benitez.

A choice dated December 1

The selection process for this landmark event in French basketball takes place early in the season. This year, the jury from all over France met in Bercy on Wednesday December 1, ie 29 days before the event, so that everything could be planned and communicated to the public about the participants. A French player (Victor Wembanyama) and a foreign player (Mike James) were automatically selected thanks to the fan vote. Then, five players per selection were retained thanks to the intermediary of the five ideals of each day. This is how Dominik Olejniczak, author of three big matches with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, was able to be called up.

Proud to represent the team of @F3Regions / @francetvsport ow be you jury you @ASGLNB ⭐️

See you at 6 p.m. on the networks of the @LNBofficiel ???? pic.twitter.com/E6n7ClhhxE

— Lukas Nicot (@LukasNicot) November 30, 2022

Tough competition among the French

The jury then had to complete the respective numbers. For once, the competition seemed tougher in the French camp than in the foreign camp. Thus, in addition to the untouchable stars (Nando De Colo, Elie Okobo and Nicolas Lang), far from being in the background statistically, Hugo Besson and Boris Dallo, important in the very good start to the season of their respective teams who occupied then the first place in the championship, were selected. To complete the external sector, Juhann Begarin (Paris) and Giovan Oniangue (Élan béarnais) presented large productions in the wings in lower ranked teams, but above the ESSM. Finally, no place could be released inside in view of the impact of the five players selected (Victor Wembanyama and Williams Narace at position 4, Ismaël Kamagaté, Youssoupha Fall and Stéphane Gombaud at position 5).

This is just the beginning ✨

???????? Career best for @NadirHifi despite the defeat of the@ESSMbasket in Strasbourg.

???? 32 PTS, 4 PDS, 4 RBDS and 32 D’ÉVAL at only 20 years old!#BetclicELITE #LNBTV pic.twitter.com/SBLtfaGJcZ

— LNB (@LNBofficiel) December 3, 2022

As for the choice of substitutes, Hugo Benitez then presented statistics similar to those of Nadir Hifi (about 12 average evaluation) but had the advantage of being the leader of a Top 8 team when Le Portel was relegated . This is how the choice fell on station 1 of JL Bourg, rather than on Nadir Hifi, selected for the Skills Challenge as well as another high-potential combo-guard, Milan Barbitch (Fos Provence).

If the controversy over the non-selection of Nadir Hifi has swelled since, it is because Nadir Hifi has been a hit, whether at home in Strasbourg (32 points despite the defeat of his own) and then during the victories against Cholet (23 evaluation ) then Monaco last Sunday (26 points). At the same time, Hugo Benitez had more difficulty, as did Juhann Begarin, who is part of a team with the same record (4 wins and 9 losses). At the moment T, Nadir Hifi would probably have been unanimous to join the list of 12. But the selection process and the preparation time necessary for this event can explain (without necessarily justifying it) his absence.

Either way, the rise of the former Lille prospect can no longer be ignored by the French public. All-Star from 2022 or not, the one who made it known that he would opt for the France team in the event of a summons to the Blues in the future will be very followed in the second part of the season.