“You took charge of the American selection in 2021. What assessment do you draw?
We decided to start from scratch after the title at the Tokyo Games (2021). We wanted to look at our options and rethink how we do things. We built this team, young, with our certainties. We put ourselves in the conditions to win. The World Cup is anything but easy. We have only won this competition five times (1954, 1986, 1994, 2010 and 2014). That says everything about the difficulty of this tournament.
How do you plan to ensure the transition to the Paris Games? With the same players?
I didn’t think about it until then because I was focused on the World Cup. But once on the return plane, Paris will be tomorrow! We will prepare to build the Games team, and I think it can be made up of current players. There will obviously be legends still active, young people and players who will be in their “prime” (their best years). We will have to make choices, but we are convinced that we have all the weapons to get through this in France.
“I think the situation he finds himself in shows how much the rest of the world wants to win titles”
Could Joel Embiid, expected in the French team but who has an American passport, come and strengthen you?
He’s a young player… who has a choice. We would all like to be 2.13 m tall, under 30 years old and able to choose (he laughs). I think the situation he finds himself in shows how much the rest of the world wants to win titles, how certain nations can become welcoming lands for talented players. This is a reality for Joel.
Everyone would want a player like him so why not you?
Of course. It’s a hell of a talent. But there’s also a chance he won’t play, or decides not to play. It’s good to be young, to have talent and options. He’s a smart guy, and he’ll make the best decision for him. »