Two years ago, in Stockholm, a very impressive French team lost its chances in the last seconds of the semis against Lithuania before losing their poise against Italy for the bronze medal. Surfing on Tony Parker’s second NBA title, France seems to be looking to reach the podium. Something French basketball hasn’t done since… 1959!

		Ronny Turiaf

This summer, with the selection of Johan Petro (#25 by Seattle), Ian Mahinmi (#28 by the Spurs), Ronny Turiaf (#37 by the Lakers) and Mickaël Gelabale (#48, again by Seattle), France became the country with the most players selected in the NBA Draft (10), in front of Slovenia (9). Should that mean that the French national team should dominate European basketball within the next few years? It might become a possibility but it is, at the moment, just a dream among French basketball fans. “The only thing I know is that having a lot of NBA players in the group gives me headaches negotiating with the players, agents and NBA coaches in order to have everybody onboard on Day-1 of the preparation”, jokes Claude Bergeaud, France’s coach, who’s not a big fan of the NBA basketball model. Just a joke? Well, when you see a talent as brilliant as Jerôme Moïso wasted on NBA benches. When you keep on waiting, without any success, for Petro (2.14m), who received a “veto” from Seattle, or Ronny Turiaf (2.07m), who had to undergo serious heart surgery this summer to please the Lakers’ insurance company (his aorta malformation was well known by French doctors who didn’t think surgery was necessary…), France’s only legitimate tall centers, you have the right to be a bit annoyed by the exigencies of NBA franchises. At the moment, even if having a double NBA Champ’ like Parker in your team is quite an asset, the French Federation only feels what the NBA is like when the time comes to pay the insurance premiums for Parker and his $66 million contract, plus those of Pietrus and Diaw…

		Tony Parker

Of course, people are expecting great things from Parker and the whole French team, but Bergeaud also knows that France paid a heavy tribute to “culture shock”, in Stockholm, when “Europeans (Foirest, Julian…) had some trouble getting used to a team ruled under the law of “Americans” (Parker, Moïso, Abdul-Wahad…)… Although finishing fourth at EuroBasket is not a bad result for France, especially when you think Parker had the winning ball in his hands, France blew it by “not playing” the bronze medal game against Italy. As a result, Athens remained a dream for France while a lot of observers thought the team could have done well in the Olympics.

But what can France do in this EuroBasket? With the return of Antoine Rigaudeau, who retired from the national team a few weeks before EuroBasket 2001, the chemistry between the European and US influences appears much more balanced. In Sweden, after a first round where Italy (beaten by 33 points!) and others failed to learn that France were unstoppable against man-to-man defense, Parker and his bunch faced zones 95% of the time. Incredibly athletic, France had to face its two traditional weaknesses: a lack of height under the basket and the absence of reliable shooters. This time, with Rigaudeau around (plus the “Mikes”: Pietrus and Gelabale), Bergeaud feels a bit more confident about outside shooting. That won’t prevent opponents from playing a lot of zone defenses, but “Le Roi” might make them pay cash on this option…

		Antoine Rigaudeau (FRA)

In August, the coach was planning on selecting only two pure playmakers: Parker and either Fred Fauthoux (a good shooter and a great team-mate) or Joseph Gomis (a poor man’s Tony Parker), thinking both Diaw and Rigaudeau can help at the position. On the outside, France are loaded with talent with Mike Pietrus (9.5 pts with Golden State), Alain Digbeu (14.4 pts in Varese), Mike Gelabale (one of the two best newcomer in Liga ACB, Spanish champ’ with Real), Rigaudeau and the all-around talent of Boris Diaw. Boris, a 2.03 m “point-forward” able to fit-in at every position, did not play much in Atlanta last season but should blossom next year with Phoenix. With the Hawks, coach Woodson said he didn’t know “where to play” Diaw. Let us bet that Mike D’Antoni’s European approach to basketball will find a way to use this guy…

Bergeaud, who knows he will lack pounds and centimetres in the paint, will “cheat” a lot by using Diaw as a very outside-inside man. The other two power forwards should be Unicaja’s Florent Pietrus, a monster on defense that had trouble last season adjusting to playing abroad, and either Giffa or Akpomedah. All of them have the same assets (athletic abilities) and weaknesses (size and outside shooting). At center, Cyril Julian is a decent offensive force while Marquis and Masingue’s mission will be to compensate their lack of size and weight (both are under 2.05 m) with a lot of energy, quickness and… heart. Not an easy job… This usually works for a few games, but in what shape will all of those “undersized insiders” be after 10 consecutive game days fighting against 2.10 m-115 kg “monsters”?

So, to sum-up France’s podium chances, we should say that potential is there… but that questions remain This team will create problems (relentless defense, offensive rebounding, fast-break…) for all of its opponents. But those same opponents can really bother them as well, if France cannot shoot well from outside and secure defensive rebounds. But if the association of “Le Roi” and “TP” ends up being as good as its promises, France can really be considered as a medal contender.