Terry Tarpey admits he was once intimidated by Rudy Gobert / News - Basketnews.com

Terry Tarpey, set for his second major tournament with France, recalls how he felt at his debut with the squad, and names what his team should pay attention to in the 2023 World Cup.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Terry Tarpey made his France NT debut at the 2022 EuroBasket. The French-American forward was 28 at the time, coming off an impressive five-year stint with Le Mans.

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Being a member of a star-studded roster that eventually reached the second step on the podium helped raise his stock. In Germany, where the EuroBasket was played, Tarpey averaged 5.4 points on 64% shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 steals.

His notable EuroBasket turnup made him climb spectacularly in the European hierarchy, something that was mirrored in the fact that he earned himself a promotion to the EuroLeague by signing a three-year deal with AS Monaco.

In the 2023 FIBA World Cup Tarpey will initiate from a different starting point.

"I do feel more experienced," he told BasketNews just a few hours before his team took on Canada for the World Cup premiere in Jakarta, Indonesia.

"Last year, I was a little bit starstruck to have some of my teammates. But this year, I came back and it's not like, 'I'm playing with Rudy Gobert of the Timberwolves, I'm playing with Rudy Gobert of the French national team,'" he continued.

Tarpey admitted he was initially intimidated by Gobert's imposing presence, before gradually getting accustomed to his role on the team.

"Yeah, it's not like your regular teammates," he said. "But I'm not a guy that's going to shy away from anything. This year, I believe that anything can happen and games aren't over until they're over -- especially with the two games we had against Italy and Turkey."

Tarpey produced 13.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game for 13.5 PIR in the LNB playing for Le Mans. However, he acknowledges that short-term, knockout tournaments are a different beat than club competitions. One year after his maiden appearance with France, the Poissy-born player has seemingly figured outwhat makes the difference in a tournament like FIBA's flagship event.

"I think the main difference is that every single possession can matter, whereas sometimes in club games you can go 2-3 minutes without a bucket and it'd still be ok," he noted.

"But if you go 2-3 minutes without a bucket here, the other team is so good that it can get a 15-point lead and it will be hard to come back from a deficit like that. Every turnover and shot matters here," Tarpey pointed out.

France did a lot of traveling until they reached Indonesia. But now, it's game time and players are usually more keen on suiting up in official outings as opposed to practice session.

"We're having a log a lot of fun in games and we're excited to play against Canada. They're a good team, just like us. We're preparing as we do in other international competitions," Tarpey stressed.

'According to the new Monaco player, defense is the main principle upon which France's game is premised. Coach Vincent Collet and his squad have been reaping the benefits in that sector, especially having the likes of Rudy Gobert and Moustapha Fall as anchors in the backcourt.

"Defense leads to offense," Tarpey said.

"We got to share the ball, move without it, and lean on our strong points. This year, we're a little more balanced than last year. We have a lot of experienced players coming back like Nicolas [Batum] and Nando [De Colo]. We're relying on those guys. But playing good defense and running in transition is what we want to do."

The defensive strategy has paid off, as France conceded no more than 72 points in each and every prep game leading up to the World Cup, with the sole exception of the scrimmage against Australia that ended up in defeat. Tarpey knows that if there's one element by which the course of Les Bleus will be decided, that would be defensive rebounding.

"In our prep games, we weren't that good in that department," he argued.

"Even in our last game against Australia, we gave up 20 offensive rebounds and lost by four points (74-78). They had 15 more shots than us.

Especially against Canada, we don't want to give them that many shots because they have a lot of talent. Going forward, usually, the team that takes the most shots, wins. So, we want to limit the number of their possessions."

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