With about four months to go before the 2012 Olympic basketball qualifying round tips off, the Fédération Française de Basketball (FFBB) and director Benoit Dujardin have launched a series of short documentaries on Team France’s preparation for the London Games.
Episodes in the 14-part “On the Road to Britain” series will be released on YouTube and DailyMotion every Thursday. This is a French-language series but subtitles are available on the DailyMotion uploads and the embeds below.
As Tony Parker, Joakim Noah, Kevin Seraphin, Nando de Colo, Boris Diaw and Les Bleus’ others are currently plying their trades elsewhere, much of the focus in early “On the Road to Britain” chapters is on preparation and preview. In “Lancement de tournée,” we learn of Team France’s summer schedule – featuring reportedly the most games ever played in La Republique in a single summer by the national team – and of head coach Vincent Collet’s expectations.
Says Collet, “After the favorites, USA and Spain, between four and six teams can dream about a medal. And we are among team. So let’s be ambitious.”
On the road to London la série – Lancement de… by FFBB
Episode two is entitled “Le Directeur” and focuses on incredibly hardworking behind-the-scenes guy Patrick Beesley, France’s national basketball program director. Beesley takes a unique and effective hands-on approach to dealing with his players: “We know we are not the NBA,” he says, “But we try to come as close as possible to their standards.” Interesting stuff here as players from the big league attempt to explain just what the heck this guy does for them.
On the road to London la série – Le directeur by FFBB
“On the Road to Britain” episode three is due on March 29 and is entitled “Le Star.” Hmmm, wonder who the focus of that’ll be…
Tags: 2012 Olympic Games, basketball movies, Benoit Dujardin, Boris Diaw, Kevin Seraphin, Nando de Colo, NBA, Patrick Beesley, Ronny Turiaf, Team France, Tony Parker, Vincent Collet
I don’t see why Spain is such a big favorite to everyone. Rubio won’t play, and was never that good to begin with. Fernandez won’t play and was overrated himself.
San Emeterio is having a terrible year, and must be playing with an undisclosed injury or something. Claver has been no better than average this year after coming off of an injury.
Sergio Llull has had a pretty lousy year, other than his nice Spanish Cup tournament. But a pretty lousy year overall for him.
Victor Sada has been a big disappointment this year, not making strides at all. Rafa Martinez who is also a possible for them has had a down year.
Even Pau Gasol has had a real up and down and inconsistent year. It looks like it could be the worst Spanish team in a long time. They are relying on Calderon, who always somehow seems to manage to get injured during the summer as well.
Sergi Vidal is having a nice year, but he never seems to get selected. Maybe he will though with Fernandez’s injury. Reyes is getting old and cannot maintain his top performance all the time anymore.
Fran Vazquez won’t play on their team due to a personal dispute apparently.
PG Calderon/Lopez/Sada or S. Rodriguez
SG Navarro/Llull
SF Claver/ maybe Vidal
PF P. Gasol/Reyes
C M. Gasol/Ibaka
I can’t even come up with a 12th player. With San Emeterio playing bad this year (and probably is hiding an injury), Mirotic can’t play because you are only allowed one naturalized player (Ibaka), Oleson can’t play because of the same rule.
These players all retired from the national team: Jimenez, Mumbru, B. Rodriguez, Garbajosa. You would need Martinez with all those other guards.
I can’t even think of their 12th guy. So I assume the bad currently in bad condition San Emeterio gets it. They still need another wing.
I don’t see Pablo Aguilar as he is a stretch 4 and not needed as much. I don’t know, maybe someone like Pau Ribas? He’s very athletic but not all that good really. I can’t honestly see someone like Blanco making it.
Honestly, Spain’s current team looks about half as good as their 2008 team was, especially when you factor in that their current coach isn’t anywhere near as good as their previous coach.
Spain is obviously way overrated right now. Their 2006-2008 team was way better than what they currently have.
Yeah I agree they are no where close to the US. People seem to clump USA and Spain together as equal favorites when USA is at least 5 X better and would win 4 out of five games.
That being said after the US, Spain is probably the next best team in the Olympics. Pau is not having a bad year. You can argue he is still one of the top 10 players in the league it’s just that he is on a team with only two other good players. Now that his brother Marc has blossomed into an NBA all-star with the Gasol brothers Spain has as good or better front court than anyone, even the US. It is their back court which will be weak but who would you put ahead of them? Argentina? France?
I would say that Spain is a big favorite to win a silver medal.
Spain’s team is looking fairly questionable to medal right now if you ask me. I would put France and Greece (even though Diamantidis can’t play because of the schedule) ahead of them.
They have lost lost of their top caliber role players in recent years, losing Jimenez, Mumbru, Garbajosa, Berni Rodriguez, Cabezas. The only one they still have is Lopez.
All of those guys were such great players for them. Now they have replaced them recently with Llull, Claver, Ibaka, San Emeterio, Sada/Rubio and the effect on their team has been really negative.
Not one of those players has adequately replaced the previous player in his role.
And I don’t see much help from Sergio Rodriguez, Pablo Aguilar, Rafa Martinez, Roger Grimau, Pau Ribas and players like that either.
I suppose Fran Vazquez if they can get him to play and Sergi Vidal can help them. But who knows if they would even select them.
They have some nice young players like Alex Abrines coming up but they are not ready yet. Rabaseda isn’t having a good year at all either and I’m not sure if they would even call him to their training.
I don’t think Spain’s team is as strong as used to be at all. Pau Gasol and Navarro have also had the worst years for themselves in a LONG time this season. They both suddenly look old. And they have always been 90% of Spain’s offense.
Pau isn’t playing like usual at all and Navarro isn’t healthy. I think Spain is ripe for getting beat at the semifinals this time.
If ur looking for a team thats ripe to get beat in the semifinals its the united states . They are one of the weakest at the center position among the elite teams . Dwight howard all by himself would do the business inside were baskets come easy . Now that he is gone there is a big hole in the middle . America has a shortage of good centers to begin with now who will replace DH? The strength of the team is at the guard positions but all u do is pack the lane and force them to shoot jump shots all day . Prevent penetration and let them shoot the 3 . If its their day they will make them if not their dead . LaBron, Durant,carmelo koby and wade are gonna sit back and shoot . Let them shoot their way out of the tournament . I think they have always benefited from a week group and peeked at the right time . Now they have to play France ,Argentina , and possibly Greece and lithuania . No break for the weary and then the knock out round . I think they are do for a tough Olympics don’t u think?
They still have Chandler, Bosh, Love, Griffin, Odom and now they are considering adding either Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Roy Hibbert or Greg Monroe. The only team that can be argued is stronger in the center position is Spain but the USA has the advantage other position.
Remember the last tournament USA won with Odom as their starting center.
“I think they have always benefited from a weak group and peeked at the right time.” I don’t know how you can say that considering the Olympics only has two groups but last Olympics USA had Spain and Greece in their group!
Also, the US has just added James Harden to the pool, nice selection
USA choose Anthony Davis. I guess it’s been tradition to have one college player on the team.
Gabe: “The only team that can be argued is stronger in the center position is Spain”
You have got to be kidding me……….
Kidding you? Who else is there? France with Joakim Noah? He’s not a try center either. Not only does USA have Chandler, the NBA Defensive Players of the Year but they could play Bosh, Love or Griffin in the center position. They might be outsized but the only teams with more size and talent at that position is Spain. Again USA won the World Championship with 6’10 Lamar Odom at center. They don’t need a 7 footer to dominate the position.
Jack please ignore Gabe. He is a huge idiot, troll, and jerk.
Everyone with even half a brain knows that several teams have much centers than the US does. Just please ignore our resident troll Gabe.
Name one center on a team that is not Spain that is better than Chandler/Bosh/Love/Griffin.
Apollo if you are going to start insulting people at least have the decency of backing up you claims.
so if you are going to say that there are several teams with much better centers tan the US then NAME THEM ALL.
It’s disappointing that Bynum wants to “rest his knees” this summer. He’s arguably the best center in the world now. He’s only 24 so hopefully he’ll wear a USA jersey soon, maybe in 2014. Also I can’t believe USA choose Davis over Hibbert.
Hibbert represents Jamaica in international competitions, he can represent the USA once he had represented another country already.
I think he only way Hibbert can play for team USA is if he waits about 3 to 5 years without playing with the Jamaican national team and then ask the Jamaican federation to be released, and the Jamaican federation has no obligation of doing so, so it’s totally up to them and once he as been granted the release then the USA federation would have to submit a special permit that has to be approve by the FIBA president himself. and the he can play. But once all that process is completed, he would be counted as a naturalized player in the USA team, and remember that teams get only one naturalized player each.
but the thing is why in hell would Jamaica want to give up its best player for nothing when they need him badly to lead their team in Caribbean competitions, especially against Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic?
they simply wouldn’t. Jamaica’d be stupid to simply just hand Hibbert to the USA team, fully knowing that they will get nothing in returned, especially when they play in such competitive region
First off Hibbert was born in Queens, NYC and has lived his whole life in the USA so he is an American citizen and wouldn’t count as a naturalized center. He also played for the US in the Pan-American games in 2007 although he played for Jamaica in Centro Basketball in 2010 so he has duel citizenship. Yet I read he was being considered for Team USA this summer.
I have had it with this site. Gabe and now this guy Zoran.the trolling is just absurd here. Name one center better other than Spain? Jessuuzess are you on crack or what?
My god this site has become unbearable.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE IDIOTS THAT ARE RUINING EVERY DAMN ARTICLE WITH THEIR TROLLING
The site has become unreadable for anyone with basic international basketball knowledge. Please either ban these pricks or eliminate the comments feature.
I wonder who “A Pissed Off Reader” is? Maybe Apollo? Notice how he still has not named a center. He cannot argue with facts and instead posts under different names insulting people, calling them trolls and saying they should be banned.
Apollo if the comments sections bothers you so much than…don’t read it!
Gabe I know where Hibbert was born thank you very much, but I explained to you that after you have played with another country at the senor level, you need to go through the process I describe first before you can play with another country.
and Hibbert was only consider by some American media, most of which is very ignorant about FIBA rules, the saying media that was screaming because Al Horford was not part of the team in Beijing, remember. and Hibbert played at the panamerican games -NOT senior level, b/c it’s not officially sponsored by fiba
got it? you can’t just play for a different country every summer you feel like.
if you want to understand this process better google Charlie villanueva
and by the way, being American citizen does not mean squash, when it comes to FIBA, they have their on rules as an organization, and it has nothing to do with other countries’ laws, so just because you are a citizen of a particular country doe snot mean that FIBA recognizes you as one, so yeah he does count as a naturalized citizen if FIBA says so no matter where he was born o where he grow up, or where his parent are from.
sorry buddy but rules are rules
oh and one last thing there is not such thing as a “DUAL CITIZENSHIP” IN SPORTS
that’s why there is something call a “Sport citizenship” because one is independent from the other. and FIBA goes by sport citizenship not your real citizenship.
so there is not dual citizenship bullshit in most sports, especially basketball, you either represent one country or the other but not both
The question should be why do the delusional Euro guys read this site since the site itself features articles that clearly indicate the NBA as the “big league”, and for all practical purposes acknowledges the NBA as the best league in the world? The whole world knows this, so maybe the whole world is on crack, and only Apollo, and the Euro trash guys are clean.LOL