CIV - Dessarzin Pointing Ivory Coast In Right Direction

ANKARA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – The 2010 FIBA World Championship features some intriguing coach-team combinations: American Bob Donewald Jr is in charge of China while Serbian Veselin Matic is at the helm for Iran.

Then of course you have American-Israeli David Blatt who calls the shots for Russia and Lithuania’s Jonas Kazlauskas pacing the sidelines for Greece.

Perhaps one of the most eye-catching coach-team combinations is the one that sees Swiss Randoald Dessarzin guiding the Ivory Coast.

So how did this partnership happen?

“I coached Swiss club team Boncourt for 14 years (1993-2007) and helped them work their way up from the fourth division up to the first division. We also made it into the FIBA EuroChallenge and the EuroCup Challenge and that got me some exposure,” Dessarzin said.

“I got an opportunity to enter France’s Pro A (French top flight) and coach Dijon for three years. In my second season there, the Ivory Coast Federation reached out to me and things quickly happened from that point on.

“The team performed very well in last year’s AfroBasket, coming in second and here we are now.”

The reward for Ivory Coast’s second place finish at last summer’s 2009 Continental Championship was a berth for the FIBA World Championship, 24 years after their last appearance in the tournament.

The ‘Elephants’ are happy to be here but know they have their work cut out.

“This group is complex. A lot of experts have said it is the most competitive,” said the 46-year-old. “Of course hosts Turkey and Greece are the biggest names but then you have to pay attention to Russia and Puerto Rico who have impressed.

“I think people unfairly underestimate China because of Yao Ming’s absence but they have a good team. They’re experimenting, but they’re still ranked in the world’s top 10.”

Ivory Coast are making their third appearance in the biggest international basketball competition and Dessarzin sees this as a sign of the huge strides made in recent years.

“We have being going in the right direction. We have a good number of players who play in some of the leading leagues over in Europe. That’s best illustrated by our backcourt of Souleyman Diabate and Pape-Philippe Amagou who are playing at a very high level as they competed in the preliminary round of the Euroleague last season,” he offered.

However, he concedes there is more work to be done, particularly in order to ensure that every National Team prospect plays on a similar level.

“The big issue we have is the disparity in terms of the experience and the level at which our players are competing. We have one player in the Spanish ACB, three in the French top flight, but then some in the third division there which is like the fifth league in the country,” Dessarzin explained.

Looking at how his team matches up against their Group C opponents in Ankara, the Ivory Coast coach is well aware their size – or lack of it – will be problematic.

“We will have trouble because we are lighter at most positions and a bit smaller,” he warned. “On offense we will try to get our running game going and try to avoid getting into a physical contest.”

Dessarzin though is just as confident of how to best use his team’s strengths.

“I think our vivacity can pose problems for China, maybe even against Russia. But we have to play every game and the outcome might depend on the mental aspect. If we stay in the game for 24-25 minutes against Turkey, then it might be that the mental aspect kicks in. So our goal is to stay close and to control the tempo,” he said.

Regardless of where they finish in the group, he believes that being a part of the FIBA World Championship experience is a victory in itself.

“Our fans will be happy that we qualified. That has put Ivory Coast back on the basketball map on the African continent but also worldwide. It’s a great experience to go up against the best teams in the world to help our growth and to justify our position,” he enthused.

“It’s very important also because Ivory Coast will host the 2011 AfroBasket and our performance here will create a buzz for that.”

FIBA