On the sidelines of the FFBB general assembly this Friday, October 18, 2024 in Paris, six new members entered the French Basketball Academy, the French pantheon. Its honorary committee carried out the election of this new promotion, 20 years after its creation, last spring.
The new academicians – or “hall of famers” – of French basketball, class of 2024, are the “pioneer” André Siener, the “players” Corinne Beinintendi, Michel Mensch and Tony Parker, the “coach”, Bozidar “Boza “Maljkovic and “personality”, Pierre Fosset.
The FFBB press release :
In the name of the “pioneers” college, the following were honored:
André SIENER (1911-1992). He was on the field, in Toulouse, in 1943 during the first France-Spain in the history of the Blues, for his only selection for the national team as a player. He refereed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games and also officiated the final of the 1951 European Championship in Paris. This great figure in refereeing was also a leader involved in technique and training. He was notably the first to rationalize the detection of hopefuls by making them undergo tests.
As for the college “players” were honored:
Corinne BEININTENDI (born February 6, 1963). A bandana around her head, a sharp look, a sense of the game, laser passes… She left her mark on the French Championship of the 1990s with her style and efficiency. It was she who led the game in Challes-les-Eaux when the club won three national titles and reached the Final Four in the Champions Cup, a first for a French women’s basketball club. She brilliantly ended her career as a professional player in Tarbes where she won the Ronchetti Cup and the Coupe de France in 1996. At the top of her art, she was voted best French player in 1995 and 1996 for her last two seasons on the court. She then successfully began a coaching career.
Michel MENSCH (born February 23, 1957). A player very attracted to the basket, fast and skillful, capable of creating his own shot, and a formidable scorer. An essential piece of the 1990 world champion French team, after an epic victory against the United States in the final, it embodies the tradition and success of French wheelchair basketball. He is the first disabled athlete to enter the French Basketball Academy.
Tony PARKER (born May 17, 1982). When a young player training at INSEP in the late 1990s, he declared that he would one day play in the NBA, he was not always taken seriously. When he ended his professional career around twenty years later, he had 4 NBA championship titles, 4 international medals, including a European Champion title. He also collected individual distinctions and the first for a French player. With Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, he is one of the players who changed the status of European players in the NBA. He is a monument of French basketball and an international star, generally considered the greatest French basketball player to date. His talent, his style of play and his work combined with his self-confidence brought him to a level and international recognition that no French basketball player had known before him.
In the name of the “coaches” college, the following were honored:
Bozidar MALJKOVIC (born April 20, 1952). When he arrived at CSP Limoges in 1992, he was already a reference among European coaches, building on his success with the Jugoplastika Split. He notably won two Euroleagues in a row. He will manage to instill his method in the Limouge players and to break the glass ceiling which prevents French basketball, and even French team sport in general, from winning a Champions Cup. In 1993, the greats of Europe suffered one by one from the iron defense and determination of Maljkovic’s players. At the end of an admirable campaign, CSP Limoges reached the roof of Europe. Forever the first.
As part of the “personalities” college, the following were honored:
Pierre FOSSET (born February 6, 1953). He was president of Bourges between 1993 and 2019. During this period, the club won more than 30 titles, including 3 Euroleagues (1997, 1998, 2001) and 14 French championships (from 1995 to 2000 and 2006, 2009, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018). Bourges was the first French women’s team to win the Euroleague, in 1997. Not only did the club reach the top but the results were lasting, thanks to development that was both ambitious and controlled. The exceptional successes of the CJM, which became Tango Bourges Basket in 2003, have contributed to the development and image of women’s basketball. In this capacity, Pierre Fosset left his mark on French basketball.
Academicians already elected:
Promotion 2004 : Ms. Jacky CHAZALON, MM. Roger ANTOINE, Christian BALTZER, Jean-Paul BEUGNOT, André BUFFIERE, Maxime DORIGO, Hervé DUBUISSON and Alain GILLES.
Promotion 2005 : Ms Anne-Marie COLCHEN and Ms Irène GUIDOTTI, MM. Robert BLANCHARD, Robert BUSNEL, Richard DACOURY, Jacques DESSEMME, and Jacques MARCHAND.
Promotion 2006 : Ms Elisabeth RIFFIOD and Edith TAVERT, MM. Marcel BARILLE, Raphaël DE BARROS, Robert MONCLAR and Jacques PERRIER.
Promotion 2007 : Ms. Yannick STEPHAN, MM. Jacques CACHEMIRE, Michel CANQUE, Jean DEGROS, Roland ETIENNE, Henri GRANGE and the French Women’s Team – Bronze medal – 1934 World Championship; French Men’s Team – Silver medal – London 1948 Olympic Games.
Promotion 2008 : Mmes Georgette COSTE-VENITIEN and Catherine MALFOIS, MM. Louis BERTORELLE, Bernard GASNAL, Jean-Michel SENEGAL and M. Pierre TESSIER.
Promotion 2009 : Ms. Odile SANTANIELLO, MM. André TONDEUR, Joë JAUNAY, Jean-Claude BONATO, and Jean PERNICENI.
Promotion 2010 : MM. Jacques FLOURET, Eric BEUGNOT, Antoine RIGAUDEAU, Pierre SEILLANT and the French Men’s Team – Silver medal – Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Promotion 2011 : Ms. Yvonne SANTAIS-HOUEL, Yannick SOUVRE, Isabelle FIJALKOWSKI, MM. Philip SZANYIEL, Jacques MONCLAR, Yvan MAININI, and the French Women’s Team – Gold medal – CE 2001.
Promotion 2012 : Mme Lucienne VELU-CHAPILLON, Jacqueline DELACHET, Paoline EKAMBI, MM. Jacques HUGUET, René CHOCAT, Roger HAUDEGAND.
Promotion 2013 : Ms. Ginette MAZELLE, MM. Emile FREZOT, Stéphane OSTROWSKI, Jean BAYLE-LESPITAU and Max MAMIE.
Promotion 2014 : Mmes Martine CAMPI and Cathy MELAIN, MM. Jim BILBA, Gérard BOSC, Wladimir FABRIKANT, Henry FIELDS, Michel RAT
Promotion 2015 : Ms Sandra LE DREAN and Ms Colette PASSEMARD, MM. Jean-Claude BIOJOUT, Charles BOIZARD, Yann BONATO, Xavier POPELIER and Michel LE RAY
Promotion 2016 : Ms. Françoise QUIBLIER, MM. Robert COHU, Freddy HUFNAGEL, Jean-Pierre STAELENS and André VACHERESSE
Promotion 2017 : Ms Danielle PETER and Ms Loëtitia MOUSSARD, MM. Louis DEVOTI, Jean-Pierre DUSSEAULX, Henry LESMAYOUX and Laurent SCIARRA
Promotion 2018 : Ms Geneviève GUINCHARD and Nathalie LESDEMA, MM. Wladimir BOURYSCHKINE, Laurent FOIREST, Frédéric FORTE and Moustapha SONKO
Promotion 2019 : Ms Edwige Lawson and Ms Audrey SAURET, MM. Didier Gadou, Stéphane RISACHET and Emile TOUZET as well as the French Women’s Team – Gold medal – 2009 European Championship
Promotion 2020 : Ms Emmeline NDONGUE, Marguerite RADIDEAU, MM. Jean-Claude BOIS, Alain JARDEL, Alain LARROUQUIS, Ronny TURIAF
Promotion 2021 : Ms. Nicole ANTIBE, Ms. Chantal JULIEN and Ms. Anna KOTOCOVA, MM. Pierre DAO, Cyril JULIAN, Ed MURPHY and Mike RUZGIS.
Promotion 2022 : Ms Alice MILLIAT, Jacqueline CATOR, MM. Jean DONNADIEU, George EDDY, Delaney RUDD, Frédéric WEIS and the French Women’s Team – Silver medal – London 2012 Olympic Games.
Promotion 2023 : Ms. Dominique LERAY, Ms. Laure SAVASTA, MM. Boris DIAW, Jean GALLE, Bernard GROSGEORGE, and the French Men’s Team – Gold medal – CE 2013.
Promotion 2024 : Mme Corinne BENINTENDI, MM. Bozidar MALJKOVIC, Pierre FOSSET, Michel MENSCH, Tony PARKER, et André SIENER.
The 2024 Honorary Committee:
Ms Françoise AMIAUD, Martine CAMPI, Jacky CHAZALON and Isabelle FIJALKOWSKI. MM. Jean-Claude BOIS, Jean DONNADIEU, Maxime DORIGO, Bernard GROSGEORGE, Alain JARDEL, Pascal LEGENDRE and Michel RAT.
