Dumerc makes a point with semi-finalists France

NEWCASTLE – (Paul Nilsen’s Women’s Basketball Worldwide) – It’s hard to believe that prior to heading to London, French playmaker Celine Dumerc wasn’t highly rated by some people, including those who regularly watch women’s basketball.
 
Even just a couple of months ago in Ankara at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, an esteemed colleague expressed near bewilderment at my suggestion she was a world-class point guard - even though it was an opinion he had heard before.
 
His response to me suggesting Dumerc was one of the best? “I really just don’t get that at all.”
 
I understood his reticence to even consider the possibility for a moment since in mitigation, there was a tangible evidence that Dumerc is indeed an outstanding defensive presence and great passer of the ball, but had not done shown enough offensive firepower to be rated as one of the very best.
 
As France now prepares to meet Russia in the Olympic Games semi-final, there’s little doubt Dumerc has made a point in London with some stellar performances which have seen her average a double-digit score in all six games at almost 16 points per game.
 
While this may not be enough to change some people’s perceptions of her, she has surely answered some of the questions posed by the doubters, proving she can be the primary scorer if needed - and at the highest level too.
 
So, why the sudden explosion in points production?  Well, few people have watched her progress over the years more closely than the Leslie Anderson of the wonderful womensbasketball-in-france.com who kindly offered a fascinating insight.
 
He said, “Céline Dumerc flourishes under pressure better than any other point guard in Europe since she knows what to do and has the skill set to finish.
 
"She has always been able to shoot and finish but she decided to work on her court vision in the last few years, so everybody has forgotten about her shooting skills.
 
“However, it’s clear that she reads the game better and is putting players in the right position at the right time and if Dumerc was a 10,000 metre runner, you would say that she has peaked at the right time.”
 
He continued, “She is so effective for France because Emilie Gomis is also on fire and the presence of Edwige Lawson-Wade on the court during crunch time. The main reason for the explosion in London is because Sandrine Gruda has not turned up offensively and Emméline Ndongue (who only started playing again in January) is also not scoring so much. As a consequence, the points have to come from somewhere.
 
“If you analyse the Czech Republic quarter-final Game, you find out that it was Miyem playing in the role of Gruda/Ndongue that saved France. If all these people were scoring, Celine would just dish out assists.”
 
For those fans who have always admired Dumerc, it’s a real travesty that this will probably prove to be her first and also her last Olympic Games. So perhaps this has been a motivational factor and especially since this is truly the one tournament she has been dreaming of and planning for, ever since France was eliminated from EuroBasket Women in 2007 and her Beijing dream was shattered..
 
Ever since then, Dumerc has spent some time playing outside of her native France, maturing into one of the best guard’s in the women’s game although ironically, even three years ago at EuroBasket Women 2009, her name still wasn’t up in lights according to Anderson.
 
“During 2009 at EuroBasket Women, nobody actually knew her name. I even remember Becky Hammon referring to her as ‘the French point guard’.
 
He added, “Sue Bird is still number one in the world for me, and I don’t rate Becky Hammon as a point guard, she’s more of a shooting guard who plays point.
 
“I think that Dumerc is the best European point guard and one of the best in the world at the moment, but they are other USA players and Australians that are better.”
 
Now Dumerc goes head-to-head with Hammon when they take on Russia and try to extend their stunning winning streak for one more game so they can take at least a sliver medal and match-up with the USA or Australia in the Final. It promises to be a great occasion and yet another potentially nail-biting encounter.
 
Interestingly Anderson feels it won’t be Dumerc who will be the difference maker against Russia but instead, Sandrine Gruda who needs to step up, a player who of course, players her club basketball in Russia with UMMC Ekaterinburg, a former club of Dumerc too.

He explained, “When the going gets tough, Russian gets going. They are also taller than the French players and have excellent perimeter shooters. They just need to have a better shooting percentage under the basket and then they  could win the match.

“France has to be aggressive and win the defensive rebounds and not give second chance opportunities. This means Sandrine Gruda, Emmeline Ndongue, Isabelle Yacoubou and Jennifer Digbeu must be active. I am not sure if Godin will even play.”

“If the game is close, then the experience of Dumerc, Gomis and Lawson-Wade may edge it for France but, my feeling is if Gruda explodes than France will win, otherwise Russia will sneak it.”

It’s nice to hear another women’s basketball journalist concur that this side of the bracket remains so intense and difficult to predict as I previously described in my last column. This, as I said last time out, is another coin-toss hen it comes to predicting.
 
As for USA versus Australia? Well, this is usually the Olympic Final and it’s hard to see the Opals beating the States but they are the team with the best chance of doing it.

I hope it's a great game and not least for a real hero of mine in the form of the truly legendary Lauren Jackson.
 
Paul Nilsen
FIBA

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