“What lessons have you learned from this first preparation match?
It’s not the gap that interests me today, but I see that the Turks only scored 11 baskets (for 46 points, including 20 on free throws). It’s not often that we produce this kind of figure, we shouldn’t neglect it. The most important thing for me was to show our identity right away. Since the beginning, we have had one obsession: to build an extraordinary defense. Tonight (Wednesday), it was a first step.
We will have to improve further but we can see that we have the material to do so. Furthermore, we scored a lot of points by projecting ourselves forward with quick ball transfers. That’s good, we have to continue in this direction. I found that some of the set-ups were sometimes a little too slow, we will work to improve that. Starting Saturday, we have five very high-end preparation matches (starting with Germany, the reigning world champion).
Do you already have your final selection in mind (he has to reduce the group from 16 to 12 by Sunday)?
I didn’t have my final selection in mind at all before this match. I have it a little more now, but not completely. Our last training sessions were very intense. Throughout the week, we had a red intensity training session every day, which allowed me to observe a lot of things. Tonight, we rotated the backs a lot and I got some important teaching elements. Not necessarily based on those who played well or less well, but based on our identity, because we evaluate the players primarily on that aspect. I want to only keep those who will allow us to assert our identity a little more each day.
What did you think of this first association between Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert?
It’s obvious to everyone that their defensive partnership is not a problem. The space coverage they are capable of, we’ve never seen that. Even when one goes far from the basket, the other protects him. Where we could possibly ask questions is in attack, because it’s not easy to play with two very tall pivots (2.24 m for Wembanyama, 2.16 m for Gobert). But I really liked their start to the game (they were associated in the starting five and played together for five minutes). What Victor showed tonight is his ability to pass. Rudy will greatly benefit from his services.”
2024-07-03 22:45:45
#Vincent #Collet #authoritative #victory #Blues #Turkey #step
