Vincent Dupuis takes stock of the preseason. He says he has players “who work hard”, but who still need to improve in the consistency of their performances.
They attack with a big piece. Even if most of the teams will be serious customers this season. This Saturday, September 21, the Roannais Basket Féminin will travel to Limoges for the first match of National 1. Vincent Dupuis takes stock before this meeting.
What is your assessment of the preparation period and the friendly matches? A rather average and neutral assessment. It is difficult to say “we had good or bad results” because it is a period that does not reflect the reality of the season. What I analyze is the speed at which we progress. We have a very young team, we have to repeat things a lot to get automatisms.
Otherwise, they are players who work hard. They must keep a positive mindset. You have to tell yourself that if you are not able to give everything offensively, you have to give it your all in defense.
What is the plan for Limoges? We have to be pragmatic. Even if we have to play an ugly match, we have to win. Even if it’s by one point. The first important thing is to be in good shape in terms of results. We will have to go and stay up before thinking about the rest.
Even if you judge the preparation period to be “average”, the team had good results whether against Montbrison, Le Poinçonnet and Limoges… The analysis is average because we have real potential. Which sometimes we show. Which sometimes we waste because there are too many empty periods. Against Villeurbanne, we scored 63 points, which is normal. It’s a normal average. But to concede 76 is too much. Last year, we were among the best defenses, we were below 60 points conceded per match.
This is an aspect that coaches don’t like to discuss. But in terms of individuals, we can see that Léane Tardy has progressed enormously. Justine Charbonnier is capable of causing pain from long distance. Rose Laure is valuable on the rebound. Do you share this analysis? Mine is the same as I have on the collective. We have players who have a lot of qualities. My vision of things is to place them in their comfort situation via organizations that allow them to exploit their strengths. But it is inconsistent.
Justine Charbonnier was elected captain. Why? I prefer, for the moment, not to talk about it. Later, no problem. I think that today, we are still searching for ourselves. We are not stable enough to be able to have a captain to expose.
Was she the one who volunteered? It’s a bit her. It’s a bit me. There is a fact. Behind Manon Sinico and Thiama Kamara, she is our most mature player in terms of age (24 years old). For the moment, I want her to focus on her game and her performance rather than the captaincy where she risks getting lost.
You started with an entirely new squad. You picked up Thiama Kamara along the way, who knows the club well, did that make the job easier and could it be an advantage for the start of the season? Of course. She arrived after everyone else to replace Salimata (Koita). Our luck was that she was available. Thiama knows the structure well. She was ready to train right away. She knows the work habits. This will be an advantage and it is already one because we did not waste time integrating another player who should have discovered everything.
After the match against Villeurbanne, you mentioned “two or three minor injuries”. Nothing serious for the start of the season? No, these are everyday ailments. A finger that hurts. An ankle that got a little stuck. But they are not disabling inconveniences. For the moment, nothing special to report.
Is there a chance of seeing Salimata Koita (hospitalized after a medical problem, Editor’s note) on the field this year? Today, we are waiting for her to leave the hospital. For her to receive the green light. In a second phase, she will be medically supervised by the club staff, who will undertake rehabilitation, certainly partly in Capbreton ( at the European Sports Rehabilitation Center, the same place where Maxime Roos went after his two Achilles tendon ruptures ). I’m not saying “we’re going to see her again or we’re not going to see her again.” I hope and think we will see her again. Impossible to say in how much time.
My priority is that she is healthy. Then, that she regains the full motor condition of her body. Because today, it is about walking, running, jumping normally again. When she has regained all these aspects, we will focus on preparing her physically and only when she is in good condition, we will consider her return.
She will come back with teeth that scratch the parquet, that is obvious. Our role is to put her, in terms of cursor, in the right balance between “you have to work hard to come back” and “you must not be in too much of a hurry”. We could burn stages and that could be dramatic and heavy with consequences for the future.
