The Boulogne Levallois coach – who is also the coach of the French basketball team – confides in an interview with infos-dijon. He talks about the JDA Dijon, the French championship, the prodigy Victor Wembanyama, the Paris 2024 Olympics which make him dream, but also Elan Chalon.
He is not sixty years old, so not the age of retirement, but he has such an important place in French basketball that he is already a legend. Vincent Collet, coach of the France team, is also the happy coach of Boulogne Levallois. Happy, because the French basketball prodigy Victor Wenbanyama works under his leadership. And the one that all NBA clubs would like to sign assures Metropolitans of full houses everywhere. As at the Palais des Sports in Dijon, this January 15. Inevitably, for a coach, full rooms are exciting. Before the shock match in Dijon, Vincent Collet confided in an interview with infos-dijon. And it’s exciting.
Facing the JDA at the Palais des Sports in Dijon, is it a match you dread?
VINCENT COLLET: “There is no easy match. They are all difficult. In Dijon, as elsewhere, or as at home. It’s not a more special match than the others, even if we come to face a team that we are ahead of by only one victory…”
You beat ASVEL last week, like JDA Dijon did. Beating ASVEL is a label?
“No because ASVEL is not as formidable as we thought at the start of the season. In this championship this season, there is Monaco and the others. Monaco is above. I consider that with Boulogne – Levallois we are part of the teams chasing behind the Principality club. In the same way as Dijon, Cholet. We all took a little ascendancy over Bourg en Bresse and Limoges. But the championship will still be very long. We’re only halfway.”
Wherever you go, the halls are full. It’s more complicated ?
“No, no, it’s not more complicated to manage. We know that many enthusiasts want to see Victor Wembanyama. And it’s very good and very good for basketball. Not only are we not complaining, but we are very happy”.
How did you convince him to join you?
“It was his decision. I didn’t go looking for him. It was he who asked to come to Boulogne – Levallois to work with me. With his agents, he felt that I was going, that with the club we were going to allow him to progress. It’s true that the team is built around him, with favorable conditions to develop his game. He knows that at his age, he still has a lot to learn, so if we can help him… »
If you had to advise him to choose between the NBA and the Euroleague, what would you say?
“It’s not a discussion. He dreams of the NBA like many other players and he is right. It’s a no-brainer that he’s joining the NBA. And I am convinced that he will succeed in the NBA. My only question, the only question, is at what level will it be successful. But I repeat, Victor is young and it is certain he will still progress.
So you are counting on him for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Do you dream of this meeting?
“All teams, all players dream of the Olympics. The objective will obviously be to have a strong and efficient team. In a year and a half, Victor will necessarily be stronger and more efficient. I’m frank, the Paris Olympics, I think about it very often. Two days ago I worked with the mental coach of the France team. Yes, casually we are already preparing for this great meeting, we are thinking about it. We are in a preparation phase. On a more personal level, the Paris Olympics, I see them as my Everest. I place this objective at the highest!”
In a recent interview with L’Equipe, Jean-Denys Choulet, coach of the Chorale de Roanne, expressed his opposition to seeing the number of teams decrease in the French championship. What do you think ?
“I rather evolved in the same direction. The fact that the Euroleague is evolving, the decrease in the number of teams in our elite is not necessary. Because there is no need to protect the teams that are in the Euroleague. In my opinion, it is important for basketball, for our basketball, to have a good territorial network. I notice that in our league today, even the bottom teams are good teams. I remind you that the desire to reduce the number of teams was born to meet the demand of broadcasters. But there is no broadcaster applying. Jean-Denys Choulet is therefore right in relation to our players. We also need matches for the public in all the halls…”
Elan Chalon seems this season able to achieve its goal of going up. Is it important for you?
“It was incongruous that this club descended so quickly after its title of Champion of France. It was surprising, because the fall was brutal. Chalon has its place in the Elite, like others. Look, Nancy is back and playing sold out at home every game.
Between Dijon and Bourg, with Chalon in the middle, there are hundreds of kilometers. Do you believe in a merger of two clubs?
“No, that’s not possible. A merger is too complicated. Dijon, Chalon sur Saôbe, Bourg en Bresse, are strongholds of basketball. Dijon took the lead today, recovered from the departure of Laurent Legname and the Palais des Sports is often full, with the added bonus of consistency at European level… Bourg is an example for other clubs, with an economic basin not huge, but a lot of partners, because they work well. They built a nice room, but it’s too small today. 5000 seats would be good. DEt then Chalon is also a beautiful hall, with great attendance. This is the network of the territory”.
Collected by Alain BOLERY
(Photo Boulogne – Levallois)
