This is what Alexandre Ménard, the coach, and Jérémy Sarre, the sports director, applied themselves to. The first arrived in March to succeed Nikola Antic with whom the current never really passed in the locker room. A situation that led the club, just relegated from the elite, to the gates of National 1, therefore an industrial accident.
This summer, five players stayed (Moore, Billong, Cortale, Tchouaffé, De Jong), five arrived. Including “a few revengeful like Cavallo, Cassier”, notes Ménard. These two come from Roanne and are recognized for their fighting spirit. A Croatian point guard (Junakovic), a Bahamian winger (Munnings) and a British pivot (Bigby-Williams) complete the cast. “We wanted to grow in position 3 and have versatility in each position,” explains the coach.
Objectif play-offs
This was done despite a significant drop in budget, established at 3.348 million euros, 6% less than last season. The BBD therefore has the fifth in the division. Something to work on anyway. And set appropriate goals. “We are going to fight each time but we want to make the play-offs, to have a much better season than last year, to experience emotions with our supporters, Ménard list. You have to create a dynamic. »
The pre-season has helped him well with four wins and a loss in extra time in the first five official matches, a qualification in the quarter-finals of the Leaders Cup and an interesting and consistent rendering. To do this, the coach relies on “non-negotiable things: defensive withdrawal, putting good screens, late screens…”
