Vincent Collet: 'You can't build a result with just one player' / News - Basketnews.com

The French national team's head coach Vincent Collet spoke about their upcoming match in the EuroBasket 2022 semi-final against Poland and commented on why some of the tournament favorites got eliminated early.

Credit: Reuters – Scanpix Credit Reuters – Scanpix

A day before EuroBasket 2022 semi-final between France and Poland, the French national team's head coach Vincent Collet spoke in the mixed zone of the Mercedes-Benz arena about Poland's strengths, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the other stars of the competition pointing out that they are not always enough for success.

France / Schedule

Turkey France86-87 France Italy93-85 Poland FranceFri15:15

Collet emphasized the Polish team's spirit that got their next opponent this far as well as one of the Polish team leaders A.J. Slaughter, who he coached during the 2016-17 season in SIG Strasbourg.

Collet was asked about the situation that many of the tournament favorites such as Slovenia, Greece, and Serbia are already eliminated.

"There were candidates, but there were also several from the beginning. For me it was seven or eight teams that had a medal nomination," said Collet.

"For example, Greece came back with great ambitions. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a great player, but it wasn't enough and we saw it," the French coach continued.

"The team is always in the foreground in European basketball. Help on defense and you can't reach a result with just one player, no matter how good he is like it happened with these three teams," Collet explained.

Ahead of the semi-final game against Poland, the French national team's head coach revealed they are well prepared for the challenge.

"Every game is different, it will be the same with Poland. The matches against Turkey and France were tight until the end. In the end, we won and now we have to be ready to play even better," said Collet.

"We want to know everything about the Polish team. We've had the whole day to see what we need, their defense and offense, and how we can use that to our advantage," Collet revealed.

Collet emphasized Poland's spirit as a team, saying it is a dangerous thing to face.

"There are several. Polish spirit is the biggest danger, they showed how it affects their game. They even had a 20-plus point lead at one point," Collet recalled.

"Slovenia came back later and even took the lead, which is probably why many thought it was over. But they found a way to come back and win," Collet added.

When asked about one of the Polish team leaders A.J. Slaughter, whom he had coached years back in Strasbourg, Collet went into detail on the American guard.

"He's [Slaughter] a great guy, I loved working with him. We had a good time together, he was very useful for my team, as he is now for Poland," said Collet.

"He is a creative player, a good scorer, he can pass the ball. He's not a playmaker, but he can help as a secondary creator. He has the ability to play pick and roll, and at the same time he can do everything else that is needed for the team," the French coach characterized Slaughter.

France will face Poland in the EuroBasket 2022 semi-final on Friday, September 16 at 17:15 CET.

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