At the Astroballe (Villeurbanne),
We know a slew of professional players who would dream of presenting a line of stats with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in a Betclic Elite clash against the reigning three-time French champion. Except that we are talking here about Victor Wembanyama, the future first French basketball player in history to become THE first pick of an NBA draft. After having crushed head and shoulders the French championship for a long time with Boulogne-Levallois and Vincent Collet, as his place as leader of the league in points scored, rebounds, counters and evaluation still attests, “Wemby » crosses a slight blow less well.
The phenomenon of 19 years and 2.21 m thus no longer runs on 31 points on average as was the case last November. Blocked at 15 units against Asvel in January, the versatile interior drew again against his previous club on Tuesday, and this time without signing the tap dunk of victory which had saved his match at Marcel-Cerdan (84-83). No, in a sold-out Astroballe (5,560 seats), just for his presence or almost, Victor Wembanyama immediately seemed in a day without, like against Nancy on Friday (14 points). Effective at free throws (8/8), sometimes thanks to generous whistles, the tricolor international thus needed to wait for the 12th minute of play to register his first basket (24-14).
“We had our faces broken”
The young star of the Mets was indeed shaken in the duels by the doublet of substitutes Youssoupha Fall-Yves Pons, excellent on both sides of the field (28 points and 12 rebounds accumulated in just 31 minutes). “It does not only concern Victor but tonight, we got beaten up, sighed Vincent Collet after the large defeat conceded to Astroballe (86-69). When I see that we were down 30-10 in rebounds at halftime, it shows how much we were really dominated in aggressiveness and commitment. “A criticism that can perfectly apply to Victor Wembanyama, too soft during this meeting between the 2nd and the 4th of Betclic Elite. Especially against an Yves Pons as bouncy as in the first leg… and in the dunk competition of the All-Star Game. Moreover, his final flight on Tuesday was almost worth his brilliance above the giant of Boulogne-Levallois in full competition.
“We know that all the attention is on Victor, who is one of the best players in the world at his age, summarizes Yves Pons. As I like the challenge, I love playing against him. “However, and even if “Wemby” finished with a 3/13 on shots that stings the eyes, it is the photograph of an evening. An evening during which Asvel donned its best Euroleague costume to stifle a direct competitor in second place for the play-offs. “It’s unreal to play with Victor,” reveals his new teammate TaShawn Thomas. What I respect a lot about him is his way of dedicating his life to this sport, and for example being the first to speak in the locker room after tonight’s defeat. »
“Playing once a week is easy”
A leadership that we could hardly have imagined last season, when the former Nanterrois was going through his first real professional year with great discretion in Villeurbanne (9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18 minutes on average). His ex-coach at Asvel TJ Parker delivered a very precise analysis on Tuesday evening of the evolution of Victor Wembanyama, who therefore made the choice last summer not to opt for a season at more than 70 matches (with the Euroleague).
You can see how much Victor has progressed lately. But he had already developed a lot with us. He had had a difficult season because of his many injuries, and it’s not easy to find rhythm in these conditions. He now has more responsibilities and I think maybe playing only once a week is better for him to minimize the risk of injury. We respect his choice to go to Boulogne-Levallois, I think he made a good decision for his future. Then we will have to see how he manages to manage the sequence of matches. Playing once a week is easy. Playing 82 games per season is not the same thing. »
A basketball fan who came from Venice on purpose
It is this XXL challenge that will await Victor Wembanyama across the Atlantic next October. By then, he will try to become champion of France for the second consecutive time, even if AS Monaco and Asvel seem much better armed than the Mets. He hasn’t yet finished discovering crazy stories of fans ready to do anything to see him before his big departure. Including facing prices never seen before at the Astroballe, with many tickets sold (in less than a day) between 75 and 375 euros, against a ticket office generally not exceeding 70 euros to face the top Euroleague teams.
It would take more to dissuade Andrea from stuffing herself 800 km from Venice in order to come and observe the tricolor giant at the Astroballe, while wearing a T-shirt with the famous front page of slam dedicated to “Wemby”. Left alone Tuesday morning by train to Turin, then by bus to Lyon, this 19-year-old Italian Spurs fan did it again overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. “It may sound crazy but I would really like to see this phenomenon at least once before it goes to the NBA,” smiles Andrea. It wouldn’t surprise us if he organized a trip to San Antonio by the end of 2023 to follow Victor Wembanyama’s first steps in the NBA with his heart franchise, who knows.