JUUOT
05-10-2007, 09:24 AM
In this interview he also talks about his position as a 4 or a 5. He still hopes to join San Antonio this summer
Ian Mahinmi came back on a difficult year for him ponctuated by a surprise qualification for the euroligua top 16 and a french cup final still to be played. His club failed to qualify for the french championship playoffs and it took pretty much all year for Ian to adapt to a more demanding and competitive environment, especially the level of play in euroligue. This past month and a half he is finally settling into a rythm and played his best basketball.
I will not translate everything at once but here is the first part:
From http://lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2007/20070510_153207Dev.html
"question:What is your state of mind with the end of the season approaching?
Ian: But the season is not over yet. We still have to compete for the French cup final. We have to stay focused and try to finish on a high note. It is not worth going to the final with heavy legs and our minds elsewhere. After all, we had a reasonably good season, with good things, so we need to try and close it with a title.
question: How do you explain the championship failure?
Ian: I don't know...We could not adapt our style to the league that changed a lot. We had some really big games but never settled into a rhythm. We had an inconsistent season. We had a good start in euroleague and i think we gave a lot of pleasures to our fans. Even in the french league we had a good start but we were missing something to keep the momentum. We tried to react... We have a good group, it's too bad. I really regret...I feel that if we had qualified for the play-off, we could have done really well.
question: What do you mean by the league style really changed?
Ian: With 4 american players authorized by team, each team became a lot more competitive. It is impressive. No team was easy to play. It is really more balanced.
question: Is it still possible today to build a competitive group for both euroligue and french league despite the style difference?
Ian: In euroleague, the style is way more physical and tactical, whereas in France it became smaller and more athletic. In france a lot of guys playing 4 are actually natural 3. The game is more open with less tactical constraints. Our team failed to adapt to it. (sounds familiar ;-)
To come: comment on gordon hebert. Ian personal season. He talks about his position, 4 or 5. His contractual situation and his plans.......
Ian Mahinmi came back on a difficult year for him ponctuated by a surprise qualification for the euroligua top 16 and a french cup final still to be played. His club failed to qualify for the french championship playoffs and it took pretty much all year for Ian to adapt to a more demanding and competitive environment, especially the level of play in euroligue. This past month and a half he is finally settling into a rythm and played his best basketball.
I will not translate everything at once but here is the first part:
From http://lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2007/20070510_153207Dev.html
"question:What is your state of mind with the end of the season approaching?
Ian: But the season is not over yet. We still have to compete for the French cup final. We have to stay focused and try to finish on a high note. It is not worth going to the final with heavy legs and our minds elsewhere. After all, we had a reasonably good season, with good things, so we need to try and close it with a title.
question: How do you explain the championship failure?
Ian: I don't know...We could not adapt our style to the league that changed a lot. We had some really big games but never settled into a rhythm. We had an inconsistent season. We had a good start in euroleague and i think we gave a lot of pleasures to our fans. Even in the french league we had a good start but we were missing something to keep the momentum. We tried to react... We have a good group, it's too bad. I really regret...I feel that if we had qualified for the play-off, we could have done really well.
question: What do you mean by the league style really changed?
Ian: With 4 american players authorized by team, each team became a lot more competitive. It is impressive. No team was easy to play. It is really more balanced.
question: Is it still possible today to build a competitive group for both euroligue and french league despite the style difference?
Ian: In euroleague, the style is way more physical and tactical, whereas in France it became smaller and more athletic. In france a lot of guys playing 4 are actually natural 3. The game is more open with less tactical constraints. Our team failed to adapt to it. (sounds familiar ;-)
To come: comment on gordon hebert. Ian personal season. He talks about his position, 4 or 5. His contractual situation and his plans.......