Fine lines, clean cut, first-in-class look… Saturday, Lassi Tuovi will officially start a new season on the bench of SIG. Always with this rather particular label stuck to the forehead: that of the youngest coach of the French basketball championship. At 34, the Finn is almost an anomaly in the landscape of this Betclic Elite. The average age of the 18 technicians is almost 50 years old, with a dean, Jean-Denys Choulet (Roanne), who will soon blow his 63rd birthday.
“This season, with Georgi Joseph, I even have a player who is older than me,” laughs the Strasbourg coach. It doesn’t worry him, he’s used to it. It is almost 17 years since he joined the edge of the field, after an honest playing career – “level N1-Pro B”, according to him – stopped by a knee injury. It was in Lappeenranta, in his native country, where he quickly became an assistant in the national team. Not just anyone, Henrik Dettmann, bronze medalist in 2002 while leading Germany.
“I was a little lucky because I needed to complete my diploma and he was looking for a video coordinator”, rewinds with modesty Lassi Tuovi. Eleven years later, he still assists the Finnish master in selection. No longer in a club, but he owes his arrival in Alsace. It was in the summer of 2016. “I was quickly impressed by his maturity and his knowledge of basketball,” recalls Martial Bellon, president of the SIG, who had left him in place despite the rapid separation (from February) with Dettmann.
“But at the end of the season, we couldn’t keep him because Vincent (Collet) was also taken by an international competition and the staff would have been too small for the preparation. I told him to sign elsewhere for a year and that we would take it back afterwards, ”continues the president. This is how the Finn returned to Bas-Rhin in the summer of 2018 after a break in Gravelines-Dunkerque (“A nice experience”). To continue learning.
“Sometimes you can see it by his face that we are going to take!” “
“It was very special to work with Vincent Collet and Henrik Dettmann, two legends,” he continues with the same enthusiasm. “I learned a lot from both. In terms of technique, Vincent’s coaching is an art whereas Henrik knows how to transmit his leadership perfectly. “
And him in all this? “He comes very early to analyze the weaknesses of the opponent. We see him at any time out, all his information makes sense “, details the interior of the SIG Léo Cavalière, speaking of a trainer” very humble, who knows how to empower the group by trusting him but who can also the tone ”. “Sometimes you can see it by his face that we are going to take!” “, Laughs the player again.
“He is highly respected by his group and he knows how to unite it. He is a very pleasant person, with an excellent education and a hard worker. He does not count his hours, ”continues Martial Bellon without finding fault with his young coach. “Yes, Lassi still has to progress in his management. He knows it ! Perhaps to take the SIG even higher than last season, his first complete as a No.1 after replacing Vincent Collet in the previous one.
During the last financial year, the thirty-something gave the Alsatian club a certain status with two Final 4s, in the Jeep Elite and in the Champions League. “We will do our best to achieve as well,” he announces. We are not the favorites but challengers. It’s been pretty good for him for almost two decades.