Vincent Collet has decided to call on Yves Pons Strazel as training partners for the preparation for the World Cup, following the injuries of Ousmane Dieng and Jaylen Hoard.
When he revealed the list of players selected to compete in the World Cup in Asia on June 28, Vincent Collet also gave the names of five players called up as training partners for the preparation. But two of them had to give up, while the Blues begin their training camp this Friday in Pau. They are Ousmane Dieng, the 20-year-old winger who plays in Oklahoma City, and who is injured in the back, and Jaylen Hoard, the winger (or strong winger) of 24 years, who played last season at Hapoel Tel Aviv, whose nature of the injury has not been disclosed.
To replace them, Vincent Collet called on Matthew Strazel and Yves Pons. Strazel, who will turn 21 in early August, has no selection for the France A team but has played the U19 World Cup then the Euro U20 in the blue jersey for the past two summers. Trained at ASVEL, he left for Monaco a year ago, where he achieved the Cup-Championship double with the Roca Team. The leader born in Bourg-la-Reine was turning this season to 7.5 points, 3.7 assists and 2 rebounds on average in 22 minutes in Betclic Elite.
Pons winner of the All Star Game dunk contest
Yves Pons, the 24-year-old strong winger, was not part of the “Team France Basket” in which Vincent Collet comes to draw his players, but he convinced the coach all the same. Passed by the Federal Center then the NCAA, the native of Haiti was not drafted in 2021, but won a contract with Memphis, where he played 12 NBA games.
He then said goodbye to his American dream (even though he played the Summer League this summer with Atlanta) to play last season at ASVEL, where he averaged 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16 minutes., and won the Leaders Cup and the All Star Game dunk contest. Remember that the other training partners are Joël Ayayi (who has just signed for Nanterre), Hugo Benitez (Bourg-en-Bresse) and Bodian Massa (Strasbourg). The Blues will play their first preparation match on July 31 against Tunisia in Pau.
