So it’s obviously not always in old pots that we make the best soups… With the return of five veterans this summer (Axel Julien, Ilias Kamardine, Jean-Philippe Dally, Markis McDuffie, Gavin Ware), Laurent Legname thought he had played it safe. But if it were that easy…
While Markis McDuffie has long been only the ghost of the formidable player seen in 2022/23, before gaining momentum since the break, Gavin Ware (2.06 m, 31 years old) remains unrecognizable. A real surprise, since the native of Mississippi had always demonstrated metronomic regularity during his five French seasons, between 10.5 and 12.8 points on average. Or money in the safe, so much so that the JDA made him sign a two-year contract. Except that the winning club of the Coupe de France has reason to regret it now…
“It’s difficult when you have a post 5 which is non-existent”
Limited by his mistakes at the start of the season (5 in 15 minutes against Trepça, 5 in 12 minutes at Bourg, 4 in 12 minutes against La Rochelle), which resulted in him being benched for the entirety of a match in Kosovo in the FIBA Europe Cup, Gavin Ware has solved this problem recently, but not that of his form, or his productivity (6.5 points at 61% and 2.9 rebounds in 15 minutes in Betclic ELITE). “My teammates keep telling me “keep going, don’t give up”, everyone tells me “we need the real Gavin Ware”he said at the beginning of November at the Public Good microphone. “I also look in the mirror to find the Gavin of the last three seasons. »
Unfortunately, the real Gavin Ware is still missing, somewhere between Japan and the Gold Coast. For the second time in four Betclic ÉLITE matches since the international window, the former interior of Metropolitans 92 and BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque only played 5 minutes Tuesday evening in Cholet (89-95), author of 2 points to 1/3. Enough to push Laurent Legname to come out of his reserve regarding him…
“We have to say things, I protected him, overprotected him, but at one point it’s difficult when you have a post 5 which is non-existent,” he belched in the columns at a press conference at the Meilleraie , in comments transcribed by Le Bien Public. “He’s supposed to be one of the two position leaders on the team and he’s been a ghost for four months. It’s very difficult to play with just one position 5, Christian (Sengfelder) is at his best from the start, Allan (Dokossi) does what he can behind. I changed defense ten times with him but he can’t play and it’s no longer possible. Me as a coach… He only played four or five minutes but it was too much for him already, he is incapable of keeping up with the pace. He has the will, he’s a great guy, but it’s no longer possible. »
“He can’t even run.”he added to Ouest France. “I go on vacation with him every day, but at some point you have to be professional…” So, last attempt to make him responsible, faced with the difficulty of getting rid of 18 months of contract, or a sign of an imminent termination? Gavin Ware would be well advised to raise the tone on Friday against Strasbourg. But isn’t it a bit illusory to claim to find the trigger in 72 hours when you still haven’t achieved it after 4 months?
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