At the buzzer, Victor Wembanyama walked towards Steve Ho You Fat. The two partners fell into each other’s arms and exchanged a warm hug. Joyful. A coincidence perhaps, but anything but a trivial gesture. There are attitudes, smiles that do not deceive, whose sincerity leaves no room for doubt. Carried by a great collective solidarity, redistributed responsibilities and a Victor Wembanyama on fire – with 29 points, including some spectacular dunks, and 16 rebounds -, the Metropolitans imposed themselves with authority on Saturday against Strasbourg (93-80), during the 28th day of Betclic Elite. They closed with joy and smiles a chaotic week, marked by internal tensions and the departure of a player, Tremont Waters.
The 25-year-old guard would have emptied the locker of his locker room at the end of the week and would have taken a flight to return to the United States. The person concerned had been involved in a violent altercation with his – now ex – partner Steeve Ho You Fat in the locker room at halftime of the match in Monaco last Sunday (defeat 87-68). Bird names and blows were reportedly exchanged between the two players. The interior would have criticized the Puerto Rican international for his attitude on and off the pitch for several weeks.
Victim of a concussion during the victory over Fos (83-82) in Marseille on January 18 (18th day), Waters had missed almost 2 months of competition. He only returned after the international window where he had blazed with the selection of Puerto Rico by actively participating in the qualification for the next World Cup. Performances that contrasted with his refusal to play for the Mets just a few days earlier. On his way with his selection he had become the club’s top scorer, with a peak of 31 points in the loss to Monaco last Sunday. But his behavior and his lack of altruism in the game exasperated those around him. Conversely, Steve Ho You Fat would have received the support of his partners and the staff. Against Strasbourg, the interior also played 15 minutes and finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Mets executives declined all questions regarding the situation. “A procedure is in progress so we are not commenting”, we are told. Both players received registered mail for an interview on April 17. Not sure that Waters is present at this summons… Even if no one brings up the subject, it seems that he did indeed play his last match with the Mets against Monaco. A blow sportingly for the club since the leader was running at 18.2 points, 5 assists and 2 interceptions (championship leader in this statistical category) on average this season. Leaders can also no longer recruit a “medical substitute”, which means that they can only reinforce themselves in the event of an injury to another player.
“He was our number 1 designer,” says Vincent Collet. We couldn’t replace it post for post (facing Strasbourg) but by the collective, relying on our strengths, Victor (The animal) of course, but not only. The aggressiveness of Lahaou Konaté and Bilal Coulibaly enabled us to find these solutions. We worked to make the circulation of the ball faster. I am very satisfied. For us it’s a good performance despite moments of relaxation which allowed the opponent to come back. But we still have to work. “” We have to deal with it, explains the exemplary captain Lahaou Konaté. We redistributed the cards, everyone took their responsibilities. We all wanted to work together. »
And it happened. The only professional leader, DeVante Jones was perfect in animation and distribution (10 assists, 7 points). Young rear Bilal Coulibaly (18) multiplied the spectacular dunks – which should go on repeat on social networks -, the iron defenses and broke his career points record (14 units). Konaté, he “impressed” Vincent Collet by his “state of mind” and his incessant activity on both sides of the field despite respecting the Ramadan fast. Wembayama perfectly met expectations as a team leader with fair shooting choices and intense defensive involvement. Author of 29 points, he regained his crown as the best scorer in the championship, which the Roannais Ronald March had briefly stolen from him the day before.
“Defensively we were much better in place, continues Collet. We have to improve, in the game, on details, but we have to keep this state of mind. We felt that the collaboration, this desire to work together was obvious. We do not have a choice. We lose a very important weapon on the 1 against 1, a player with a lot of talent (Waters). We have to do something else. We have to deal with our qualities, they have changed a bit and we have to make the most of them. »
Next meeting next Sunday in Limoges which will take the opportunity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its title of European champion. The atmosphere in Beaublanc should be even hotter than usual. “We have a very tough next match but after that we won’t play until April 30 (the match against Cholet was postponed), we can hope to be able to recover Michael Frazier and Hugo Besson (injured), one or both of them. The situation will no longer be the same. “The Mets can still hope to keep Monaco’s runner-up spot to the end.