When the conquistadors went to discover the New World, their wives went to the port to give them a last embrace. This season, Victor Wembanyama begins his last dance in the body of a French basketball player, before jumping across the Atlantic as a very likely first pick. This monthly follow-up is our way of embracing it.
In two weeks of competition, Victor managed to chase away the controversy surrounding his departure from ASVEL. No one takes the time to question his motivations, nor the usefulness that the Euroleague would have had in his personal development. In Paris, cardinal point of the worldjournalists from New York Times, from CNN, the GMs of the various NBA franchises, our grandparents, Sylvain Tesson and the Three Kings refused continence and made the trip to Marcel-Cerdan to watch the child prodigy play there. On the form, Victor still has something to step-up by erasing certain imperfections. In the background, the sky is blue, clear, and the swallow sings of tranquility: the shot goes off without a hitch.
The Angevin slab
The Pro Stars tournament in Angers, an excellent start to a season that we hope will also be… productive.
The hot summer wind was still aground on our necks when – on September 16th and 18th – Victor Wembanyama emerged from a draw and laid 68 points in two pre-season games. Furious madness. No professional cameras in Maine-et-Loire to echo his prowess against the Turkish club Darüşşafaka (34 points), only student relays who paid €2 to see one of basketball’s greatest generational talents. Two days later, the installation of a very pirate camera against Hapoel Holon made it possible to verify these hallway noises. Another 34 points for Vico – including a remarkable 13/13 in throws – and 95 kilos of hype one week before the opening of the Betclic Elite. What will be its limit? Darüşşafaka finished 6th in the Super Lig last season, while Hapoel Holon is a pro club in the Israeli league involved in the BCL, the FIBA Europe Cup. Two big chunks devoured by a bigger chunk, and a general realization among the observers: he can reiterate at the next level.
Victor Wembanyama just went off against Israel’s reigning champions, Hapoel Holon:
34 Points
10-17 FG
13-13 FT
1 Steal
5 BlocksHe’s impossible to stop without fouling, and is doing all of that while putting a lid on the basket. Full Highlights: pic.twitter.com/OFAg0ZzotN
— Itamar (@Itamar_17_10) September 17, 2022
The northern trap
At the center of Sportica, room of the BCM Gravelines, the first in-between of the Betclic Élite season is launched: 40 minutes of games later, Victor Wembanyama comes out of a match in halftone. All Ile-de-France balls went through the hands of our prospect who converted them into 23 points at 12/21 shooting, and 10 rebounds including 7 offensive. Significant downside, the Metropolitans 92 ate -12. Several observations from this performance. The 18-year-old position 4 did not leave his audacity on the banks of the Rhône. That he draws without fear is probably the best thing to do in a draft year. Now, Vincent Collet will have to find a happy medium between doing « shiner » Victor Wembanyama and shoot 100% the rest of his rotation. Vico’s individual development should not demolish the collective ambitions of Metropolitans 92, 3rd in Betclic Elite last season. That many balls go through him is obvious: this is one of the reasons that sent him to Levallois. However, it would be difficult for him to steer his boat in the fury of a media and opinion storm, such as: “In the meantime he weighs down his team with your “crack””. The kind of comment that we found from this first setback. However, keep in mind that this type of criticism only reflects the opinion of an extreme minority. A falling tree always makes more noise than a growing forest.
Victor Wembanyama looked like the No. 1 pick in the draft with a 23 point, 10 rebound, 3 block performance in his French season opener, including several jaw-dropping plays. Such a smooth, fluid mover at 7’5. pic.twitter.com/T7SKKZzeeB
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) September 23, 2022
Little by little Vico is making its nest
When the Élan Béarnais moves to Levallois, it is better to watch it with safety glasses. A Michael Stockton extremely well contained by the Ile-de-France defense, and a very (very) weak Pau team at… 6/29 from 3-pointers: the Metropolitans 92 pocketed their first success of the season without shaking. As for Victor, three fouls in four minutes and a plump Vitalis Chikoko forced him to watch the first half from his bench. His second act, very correct, allowed him to blacken his game sheet with 10 points at 3/10 shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 1 interception. Our summary of the evening can be found right HERE.
“Victor was a bit greedy but he made some good passes. He was also more dissuasive than Friday (defeat against Gravelines, editor’s note), more focused on the defensive aspects, in rebound control. It was less “flashy” than Friday but more solid. – Vincent Collet, after Metropolitans 92 – Élan Béarnais
The reception of Portel, the last match before flying across the Atlantic for a double confrontation against Scoot Henderson’s Ignite Team. Another victory, but still a mixed collective record with a gap of “only” ten units which is not reassuring. In the post-match conference, a very dry Vincent Collet expressed his concern: ” Even if our adversary was diminished, we had the controls throughout the meeting but in the way it is very imperfect. We play G-League basketball. We will have to move forward”. If we look at the statistical line of Victor Wembanyama, author of 19 points at 8/16 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 stealsis that dit “That’s not bad at all! ». On the form, however, he has the ability to do MUCH better. Not that his performances against Pau and Le Portel are to be thrown in the dumpster, quite the contrary, but the Victor at the start of the season is like an excellent pizza whose only ingredient is tomato sauce. It works well, and it may be a hit when he/she develops.
Several eye-opening plays for projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama in Metropolitans’ blowout win over Pau-Orthez. Finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks in 20 minutes after early foul trouble. Next game will be versus G League Ignite October 4th in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/XkoWCwJM4Y
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) September 27, 2022
On the cover of Legendary SLAM Magazine
In October 2018, Kylian Mbappé became the first French footballer to appear on the front page of the prestigious Time Magazine.
We reassure you, Victor Wembanyama has not yet caught the cover of the weekly Cainri. However, the mythical SLAM Magazine – which only publishes nine editions a year – has indeed dedicated its a at the jewel of Levallois. A very small « RIP Bill Russell » on the left of the cover, placed in the background, and a magazine interior that is worth the effort. We learn that Victor favored Levallois in Villeurbanne for the comfort of travel and the rhythm of a single match per week, just to recover better and to work on his fundamentals. More generally, he is only the second French player to make the front page of SLAM Magazine after Tony Parker in 2007, when the Spurs played not too bad basketball. There is also Cyril Féraud, but for once not sure that we are talking about the same magazine. In short, we slip you a very interesting video just below. The SLAM Magazine teams spent an afternoon in Paris with Victor Wembanyama, and then posted an eleven-minute interview with the first pick announcement. He looks back on his career, the impact that pressure has on his game (or rather that it does not have), confides to think ” every day “ to the defeat against Team USA in the final of the last U20 World Cup, and reacts in the smartest way to a question about “what he wants to accomplish”.
“Yes I know pretty much what I want to accomplish, most things yes… but I’m not going to tell you about it *laughs”
THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER OF VICTOR WEMBANYAMA IN FIGURES:
- 15 septembre vs Darüşşafaka (pré-saison): 34 points at 71% shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 0 personal fouls and 11 fouls caused for 37 evaluation
- September 17 vs Hapoel Holon (pre-season): 34 points at 10/17 in shooting including 13/13 in throws, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 1 interception
- September 23 @ Gravelines (championship): 23 points at 11/23 in shooting including 1/6 from the parking lot, 10 rebounds including 7 offensive, 1 against, 1 pass, 3 turnovers, 2 personal fouls and 0 fouls caused in 30 minutes
- September 27 vs Pau-Lacq-Orthez (championship): 10 points at 3/10 in shooting including 1/3 from parking and 3/5 in throws, 8 rebounds including 1 offensive, 3 blocks, 3 assists, 1 interception, 1 turnover, 4 personal fouls and 3 fouls caused in 20 minutes
- September 30 vs Le Portel (championship): 19 points at 8/16 in shooting including 2/3 from parking and 1/2 in throws, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 interceptions, 2 turnovers, 1 personal foul and 6 fouls caused in 32 minutes
First half-month of competition loaded, on and off the floors. The hype is taking hold of the Wembanyama phenomenon well beyond France’s borders, and the first flashes of devices are beginning to dazzle the face which, next summer, will fill one of the thirty NBA fanbases with happiness. Come on, let’s quickly get ready for tonight’s meeting between Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson: the preview can be viewed HERE.
