“Does the defeat make this first one frustrating?
A little. We’re starting well, we’ve been ahead for a long time, and we’re letting go of the details. I’ve been here for two weeks and I feel a good energy, a chemistry. This will take a few weeks. But it can only get better. It was the first match where I really played with the team (in addition to a friendly against Saint-Chamond). We will be better.
How do you judge your first match, one year after a last outing in the G League (5 minutes with the Delaware Blue Coats, March 25, 2023)?
It’s just fun. Of course, there is waste, easy things that I miss because I have to rediscover the sensations of high-level matches. But I know what I have to do. I don’t want to prove, just play. I didn’t have any nerves, I was just focused, I wanted to start the season well, to help the team as best I could.
You played 35 minutes! Fatigue ?
Honestly, no. I felt drops in speed and energy. But I have the heart, I thrive, I like the effort. What I was able to do is the fruit of the work of the last few months in Dallas. Hard work which allowed me to go from 122 to 101 kgs in two months. After everything that had happened, I wanted to return to the highest level.
Where did the click come from? And when ?
At one point, I had a distaste for the game, for almost everything. It came to me like that, after my (foot) injury with the Lakers, when I had started the season well. After my relapse on the same toe, everything changed. I thought about stopping, I found myself in a cast, in a box. I was gaining weight, I wasn’t doing anything, I couldn’t move. I was poorly surrounded and I had to deal with it. But it was my test, a blessing in disguise.
We grow from these things. I learned a lot. I know what I want, in which direction I want to go. Considering where I come from, I take it with a smile. I struggle, I fight. And I am happy.
How did you get out of the black hole?
I relied on my mind and God. I am very religious. I am convinced that nothing happens by chance. I knew it would be hard, but that something would click. Today is just the first step. I thank Roanne and the people who were there for me. I never give up, I don’t calculate what people say around me.
“I don’t doubt my potential, the potential I have, that’s one of the things I realized”
What was the hardest?
Losing 21 kg in two months is not just desire, it takes discipline, something else. I went looking for that in my gut. Above all, I was ready. I wanted this challenge. It’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever had to face. But my life is a bit of a film (he laughs).
Who played the most important role in this process?
It was myself, and my agents. Why did I come back to ComSport (which had broken up with the player after his first years in the NBA)? It came through my father, who was in contact with them, asked me if I didn’t want to change and told me they were OK. I spoke with Bouna (Ndiaye) and Jérémy (Medjana, co-founders of ComSport), we sorted things out and here we go again. Despite what people think or say, Bouna is like my spiritual father, my family.
This visit to Roanne, do you see it as a last chance?
Not really, I’m 23, I’ve been pro since I was fifteen. As Bouna says, a second career is beginning. I am not in a hurry. I just have to play. I feel good with the coach, the team. I knew it would happen, sooner or later. You just had to have patience, keep working and when the moment comes, be ready.
I am aware that the context, the ranking (17th, relegated) creates a form of urgency. I know I have to be better. There, I put 18 points (8/15, plus 4 rebounds, 2 interceptions, 1 block, 2 lost balls) but it’s not just the points, you need to produce more, more defensive stops.
How far do you see yourself going?
At the highest level… I still have it in my legs, in my guts. I don’t doubt my basketball, the potential I have, that’s one of the things I realized. I know it will. I will do it. »
2024-03-02 22:46:13
#Sekou #Doumbouya #Roanne #disgusted #game
