In all his most requested media of the weekLaurent Lumber used the expression “irony of fate” qualifying the fact that his first away match for Gravelines-Dunkerque would be in Bourg-en-Bresse. The new coach of the north was wrong. The real irony of the story came at the last minute, at 85-81, when her lifelong man, Axel Julien, found himself with the ball in hand against Vafessa Fofana. So the Burgian leader made the Ivorian international dance, who lost his support, and sent the murderous banderilla from afar. “This latest hit is anecdotal”whispered the hero of the evening. “Honestly, given the history with Laurent, it bothers me a little that I was the one who had to wear it, but it’s basketball, it’s work. »
LIBERATION 🔥
The 3pt roll of @julienaxel5 who delivered Ekinox last night against @BCMBasket ! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/UaT9WKmQSN
— JL Bourg Basket (@JLBourgBasket) December 18, 2022
A unique story of fidelity
Is that these two had been together in all the battles. It’s simple: apart from his 21 selections for France, Axel Julien had never known a match without Laurent Legname at his side. He had him as a teammate during the 2010/11 season, as a coach during his Espoirs MVP season in 2012, as an assistant during his first real professional season (in 2012/13) then as sole coach from 2013 to 2022, to follow everywhere, in Dijon and then in Bourg-en-Bresse. One of the most unique stories of fidelity in French basketball between two personalities from Var sport, which also found extension in Slovenia, where the player was crowned junior European runner-up in 2012 with his mentor present on the bench as assistant to Jean – Aimé Toupane . So yes, these two have truly experienced everything together, from the Espoirs to the European podium in BCL, from the tears of sadness after the last game at HTV during the 2015 Pro B playoffs, to the tears of joy accompanying the 2020 Leaders Cup with Dijon.
Since the eviction of Laurent Legname at the end of April, Axel Julien discovers a new life. That of the player who has to evolve without his favorite coach. To say that his performance is not up to par this season (4.5 points at 38% and 3 assists in 21 games in all competitions) is an understatement, he who also chose to abandon the captaincy in favor of Maxime Courby, but understandable family extenuating circumstances may be another legitimate explanatory factor. However, the international has been coming back well for a few weeks and on Saturday he delivered one of his best performances in the Burgiana shirt (90-81). In addition to this last symbolic shot, the triple All-Star was decisive with 7 points at 100% in the last quarter and above all played correctly throughout the evening.
“If it hadn’t been for him, we would have won”
One stat sums up Julien’s impact: +22. During the 28 minutes the Cavalairois spent on the field (10 points on 4/6, 1 rebound, 1 interception, 4 assists and 2 stray bullets for 13 ratings), JL scored 22 more points than BCM Gravelines-Dunkirk. The best +/- of the match, proving its decisive importance in Bourg’s sixth consecutive success. “I honestly think that if he hadn’t been there we would have won”applauds Laurent Timber. “I tried to change a bit what I offer in defense because he knows me too much. Despite this you could see all the quality of him, he knew how to serve the players when they needed to be served compared to my defense. He was very, very good. Aside from the fact that I’m not happy that he hurt us so much, I’m very happy to see him demonstrate his true level of him to everyone. »
Is that the former Dijonnais has suffered from a lack of popularity in Bourg-en-Bresse since his arrival. Sure, he’s not vilified by his own supporters, nor openly booed, but he’s too easy a target when things go wrong, the prime object of criticism. Blame his fluctuating level and obviously the fact of being labeled too Timber, he who was one of the few to clearly express his disagreement with the decision taken by the club. The Gravelinois coach, however, became the first former Bressan in history on Saturday to receive a bronca from the presentation of the teams. “If there are people who doubted my desire to play well for this club, they won’t be able to say anything now.”he dropped later, before confirming his friend’s words. “I think it was clearly a disadvantage for Laurent that I was in the other team because I knew what to do to hinder them. It went pretty well. I’m glad I had a good game because my season is far from perfect. I’m happy for myself and for the team. »
A happiness shared by his teammates, by an entire club elated to see Axel Julien explode in anger after his stab, like James Palmer who practically jumped on him in the center circle while the match was still in progress. “It’s good to see Axel like this”confirms Pierre Pelos. “He’s playing a good game, he’s scoring points that are good for us, it did him good to shine against his former coach. » In a press conference, Frédéric Fauhoux himself brought the topic to the table, before any specific questions. “Special mention to Axel! It was a special game for him, it shouldn’t be easy to understand. Hats off because it demonstrates the human quality of the boy. » Or the trigger he needed to finally break free for his final six months of his contract?
In Bourg-en-Bresse,
