Coulibaly leaves her calling card

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's London Calling) - It doesn’t matter where the game was played, or what the competition was.

The ‘19’ rebounds that were claimed by USO Mondeville's center in France on Thursday night may as well have been lit up in red and flashed repeatedly in the box score because that sort of statistic makes everyone go, “Wow, who is Naignouma Coulibaly?”

The fact that the 22-year-old claimed that many rebounds in a EuroCup Women game while opposing the 1.91m, 113.4kg Courtney Paris of Turkish side Botas makes the statistic even more eye-catching.

Coulibaly is someone you may have heard of already.

She represented Mali at the Beijing Games, when the country made its Olympic bow.

The 1.91m center had hoped to be in London, too, but Mali, when hosting the last Afrobasket last year, only won the bronze medal and not gold.

Angola captured the title and will instead play this summer in Britain, though Mali will take part in the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Ankara.

Don’t rule out the possibility of Mali springing an upset or two in Turkey, where five places for London will be up for grabs.

"Maybe, but the level of the European teams and the other countries is very high,” said Hervé Coudray, Mali’s coach the past two years, to FIBA.com.

“It's not very easy.

“The easiest way to the Olympics is to win the Afrobasket and we didn't do that, so it will be very difficult to go to London through the pre-Olympic tournament.”

Coudray is also Coulibaly’s coach at Mondeville.

"Yes, she's been getting better game after game since the beginning of the season,” he said.

"Her tactical understanding of the game was not at the best level (when she arrived) but she has worked a lot and learned a lot, so she is playing much better day after day and that was one of the best games she has played.

"However, in the French league, she has had many good games, too."

Coulibaly had no basketball education until she began playing for Coudray at Mondeville, but that’s not as bad as it sounds.

"When you have never learned something, it's easy to learn,” Coudray said.

"It's easier than we learn something bad and have to change the idea.

"It's like a baby who learns, so she adapts very fast."

Coulibaly is much better than a lot of players in another respect.

"She is very athletic,” Coudray said.

“It's not a problem of the physical quality, but when you come from Africa, you play against American players, you need to learn a lot about how to adjust to the double-teams, or when there is a very aggressive defense.

"You have to learn a lot, but she is so athletic that no one can stop her for her athletic quality.

“For now, her job is to become better as a (tactical) player, not just a physical player.”

The Mondeville fans appreciate the player they have already.

The game against Botas and Paris has made everyone believe the sky is the limit for Coulibaly.

"She did a very good job in the second half, was very intense for all rebounds and forced Paris to become tired and commit some fouls," Coudray said.

Coudray, meanwhile, doesn’t know if he will be in Ankara for the OQT.

His contract expired after last year’s Afrobasket.

"I don't know yet,” he said.

“We have qualified for the pre-Olympic tournament but we are speaking with the federation right now.”

There are good reasons for him to stay involved.

"Maybe we can find other players to play in France, or Europe, as Coulibaly or Djéné Diawara of Flammes (Carolo Basket Ardennes ASPTT),” he said.

"Maybe we can find more post players or forwards than guards because for the guards, it's not the same.

"But it's very interesting to coach a national team, especially Mali, because there are many athletic players in this country.”

Jeff Taylor
FIBA

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