FRA - De Vincenzi: France among contenders in Lithuania

LONDON (EuroBasket 2011/Olympics) - France will head to EuroBasket in Lithuania next week looking to do what is needed of them to qualify for next year's Olympic Games in London.

Les Bleus last appeared at the Olympics back in 2000 and perhaps no one is more aware of how long the 11 years since have been than Jean-Pierre De Vincenzi, the team's head coach at that time.

De Vincenzi led the French side to an unbelievable run in the Basketball Tournament in Sydney, one which resulted in a silver medal finish. He then followed through on the announcement he had made at the 1999 European Championship, by stepping down from his coaching position right after the Olympics.

He was quickly given another challenge by being appointed National Technical Director of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB).

In that role - one which he still holds to this day - he has ensured the continuous growth and improved competitiveness of all French national teams - senior and junior, men and women. He has a good number of medals, at both European and World Championship levels, to show for his vision and work method.

In late 2009, he added the title of General Director to his duties, which called on him to oversee the operational reorganisation of the French Federation.

De Vincenzi talked to FIBA about the men's team, the challenge in Lithuania and the women's bronze medal in Poland.

FIBA: What are your thoughts on EuroBasket and the group that France is in?
De Vincenzi: We are in a tough group, but you can turn that into a positive. If we want to go all the way we will most likely have to play the big teams at some point. With the draw we have, the advantage is we won't play them in the quarter-finals. You can't have everything. You can't complain that over the years we've fallen to the eventual champion in the quarter-finals. In 2009 it was Spain, in 2007 it was Russia. Maybe it's best to face those teams earlier in the tournament.

Reaching the quarter-finals is always special, but here it means that much more because it can propel you to the semi-finals and being a game away from automatic qualification for the Olympics. If you lose your quarter-final, you can still reach the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. But first you have to reach the last eight.

FIBA: What is the target at EuroBasket?
De Vincenzi: The target is to reach the quarter-finals and then advance. After that, it's always silly to say 'we want to be champions'. Everyone wants to be the champions. There are seven or eight teams that can win the tournament and we're among them. The thing is to get to the quarter-finals and then once you've won it, once you're past that stage, you don't have to motivate your team. When you're in the last four, they're motivated enough as it is.

FIBA: If you qualify for the Olympics - directly or through next year's Olympics Qualifying Tournament - how far can this team go?
De Vincenzi: The Olympic Basketball Tournament is a particular case. It always gives the impression of being easier than the European Championship. We say that because the pools are well balanced and there are fewer European teams. There are American teams, Asian teams, African teams. But once you get to the quarter-finals, the competition really tightens up.

So with our group of players, if we're drawn in a decent group, I think we can finish in the top five. Can we finish on the podium? Well that depends on who we come up against in the quarter-finals. If we face Spain or the USA, it will be tough. But would we hope to reach the quarter-finals? Yes. Then, beyond that, it depends on the opponent. Finishing fifth or sixth sounds possible.

FIBA: You won all five of your games at the Olympic Test Event. Do you read much into that?
De Vincenzi: The Olympic Test Event was of good quality with good teams but let's see what happens at EuroBasket. Croatia is a team in rebuilding process and Serbia is a team made up of young players. So we have to be careful. We know that when playing a European Championship, the preparations are out the window once you play the first game of the tournament. Only the result of that game and subsequent ones matter.

FIBA: Unfortunately in London you lost Ronny Turiaf and Antoine Diot to injuries and they will miss EuroBasket.
De Vincenzi: The injuries to Ronny Turiaf and Antoine Diot are huge blows. Ronny's absence is a problem because he brings so much enthusiasm and positiveness. A team has to overcome that but his injury is definitely a big blow to us.

FIBA: What are your impressions of the group you have right now?
De Vincenzi: There's a principal which is that it's not the best team that goes all the way. It's the one that's best able to work together, to get past the obstacles - injuries, losses and so on. If you lose a game by one point and then another one, you have to manage to stay together, bounce back and never give up.

It's also about putting the conflicts within the team aside to focus on the same objective of going to the Olympics. Together we will get there but if we start fighting among ourselves, we won't get there. So it's about being able to put the ultimate objective above all else and for all concerned to see it as the main point of reference. When you have that, you imagine that your group is going to be very solid. So that's a good team - it's the one that, whatever happens, doesn't give up or let go until the very end. The team that goes all the way is the one that best handles its problems all the way.

FIBA: Do you think France can be that kind of team?
De Vincenzi: I hope so but it's too early to tell. So far everything is fine. We have had some difficult moments but we've dealt with those. At the same time we're lucky in the sense that this generation of players - Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf - are conscious of the fact this is their last real shot at getting to the Olympics because in 2015-2016 they will be 32, 33 or 34 years old and I'm not sure how many of them will still be with the national team. Right now they're in full possession of their abilities so it's now or never.

FIBA: From your point of view, what led to France missing out on the Olympics in 2004 and 2008?
De Vincenzi: In 2003, we played Italy twice at EuroBasket. We faced them in the Preliminary Round and beat them by 30 points. Then we played them in the third place game, with a berth for the Olympics on the line. We lost that game in a way that's hard to explain. I think our players didn't seem to be in the game. It's as if they were just going through the motions.

In 2007, we lost to Russia on free-throws at the Quarter-Final stage of EuroBasket in Spain. Our players saw their dream of being crowned champions of Europe go up in smoke and that really took everything out of them and we lost the next two games to finish eighth. We didn't deal with the bad luck and the disappointment of losing. We suffered from that for a few days and in the meantime everything else went by under our noses.

FIBA: Let's talk about the women's national team. What are your thoughts on the bronze medal they took at EuroBasket in Poland?
De Vincenzi: It's a good result. We were the defending European champions and we finished third. We lost against a Turkey team that did what it had to win the game. Russia were a dominant team. We played teams that were better than us on the given day. Maybe we could have gone all the way but only to stumble against a mighty Russia.

We'll go to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and I hope that we will qualify - we don't really have a choice, we have to get through. We can't take it for granted, we can't let our guard down.

FIBA: What do you make of the state of basketball nowadays, especially in terms of emerging national teams?
De Vincenzi: There are a lot of countries that are emerging right now. Turkey and Montenegro are rising, Italy is coming back. There's a lot of change and movement. It's exciting. As I said at EuroBasket there are seven or eight teams that can win. In women's basketball, Turkey have done very well, the Czech Republic won a silver medal at the World Championship and Spain had an early exit in Poland.

When I started out many years ago, you would talk about Italy, Spain, Yugoslavia, Russia and they seemed untouchable and immovable. They were monsters. You tried to go up against them and beat them and when you did it once or pushed them hard, it was a miracle. They dominated. Nowadays, that's no longer the case. Anyone can be beaten.

FIBA