PARIS (France) - Ruddy Nelhomme is not your average newcomer head coach at a youth national team. France's new playcaller for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 won eight international medals including two Olympic silver medals as the right hand man to Vincent Collet with the France national team.
Now he is taking over the country's elite junior players as the federation handed the reins to the 53-year-old Nelhomme for this summer's FIBA U19 World Cup.
"I am very happy to be able to pass on the experience I had with the senior team, and to share it today with these young U19 players who are developing and who aim to reach the highest level," said Nelhomme.
The coach has seen a real increase in the talent level of French players over the years.
We already had talented players back then, but the difference today is the consistency of performance
"Overall, young players are becoming more technical and skilled. They have access to many different resources like videos highlights, data, and analytics - which allows them to enhance their game and progress," he said. "In France, we've seen a real increase in skill, passing and tactical reading. Over the past 15 years, the work carried out in youth centers of professional teams and federal training centers has paid off. Players are now much more consistent: whether in shooting, passing or playmaking. We already had talented players back then, but the difference today is the consistency of performance."
Despite spending his entire career at the senior level, Nelhomme is not worried about working with junior players.
"I didn't need to make a real switch because I've always followed youth teams, both in France or abroad. Even when I was head coach of a pro team, I was always keen to trust young players and give them a chance in my team," the coach said.
Still, he knows there are differences between the two age groups.
"What's changing is the maturity of the players. The senior players have a more developed knowledge of the game, while the young players need more guidance. And I would say that the media pressure is different: with the senior teams, it's much stronger," Nelhomme said.
And the coach knows of what he speaks. He was assistant coach on the France teams that won FIBA EuroBasket 2013; took Olympic silver in 2020 and 2024; finished third at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014 and 2019; and added second at EuroBasket 2011 and 2022 and third in 2015. And Nelhomme learned so much from Collet.
"Vincent is truly an expert in the technical and tactical aspects of the game. Having shared so many competitions and medals with him over 14 years allows me today to rely on all the conversations we've had over the years," he said.
Nelhomme, who coached for Poitiers at the club level from 2007 to 2020, experienced so many highlights it's hard to say which was the best.
"It's difficult to rank one medal above another, but my top 3 are still the gold medal at EuroBasket 2013 and the two Olympic medals in Tokyo and Paris at home. It was three amazing feelings with the players and the staff," he said.
Winning Olympic silver at home last summer was definitely something that he will never forget - especially the 82-73 win over Canada in the Quarter-Finals.
"My best memory of this Olympics is the game against Canada, a real turning point for us, a game where it was 'life or death'. We played very well, and we knew how to respond," he remembered.
Just like the expectation of the senior team was to reach the podium, France's youth basketball has reached that level as well. They took home bronze from the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup and then lost in the Final in 2021 and 2023.
"French basketball, both at the youth level and in general, is showing increasing stability in its results. This inspires us to hope for a place in the final four of the U19 World Cup this year, while remaining humble and focused on our preparation," Nelhomme said.
France's mettle will be challenged this summer as they have been drawn into what many see as the ‘Group of Death’ along with record eight-time champions United States, Australia and Cameroon in Group C.
"It's indeed a tough group with some great teams. We also know that our competition will really be decided in the Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals. The goal, therefore, is to perform well in our group to benefit from a favorable draw," he said. "The goal is to reach the final four. However, this goal will largely depend on the team we are able to have for the competition. Team cohesion, consistency in our defense, and our ability to be precise and effective in attack."
Nelhomme has 14 years of success to call upon and he knows what it takes for a team to win.
"What is essential is the human relationship and the co-construction of the project. It has been based on conversations and mutual respect between players and staff. These successes have always been based on strong bonds between players and staff," he said.
And now he wants that at the U19 level.
FIBA