By Valentin Le Clezio
Antibes has been a very hot spot when it comes to French prospects over the past few years with the likes of Killian Tillie (’98), William Pfiister (’95) , Timothé Luwawu (’95) and Isaia Cordinier (’96) coming up the ranks of their youth teams. If Tillie (INSEP) and Pfiister (Northwest Florida State College) will have to wait a few more years before going Pro, Luwawu and Cordinier will discover the daily grind of being a professional ball player this season. They are the two main attractions of the French second division. Timothe Luwawu (Antibes, ’95) and Isaia Cordinier (Evreux, ’96) will go through the interminable 2014-2015 ProB season, which started last week, as they look to increase their stock and build on a strong summer. These two prospects have very similar stories and backgrounds. They are late-bloomers, they never made it to INSEP or a major French basketball institution, they are extremely athletic and both of them had their coming out parties in front of NBA scout this summer, at the U20 and U18 European Championship. Among two very weak generation of players for the French national teams, Cordinier and Luwawu stood out and at least put their names on the map.
At 6’5,180 pounds with long arms and dynamite in the legs, Cordinier was probably one of the biggest suprises at youth tournaments this summer. Despite having a pretty good season at the espoir level in France for a player that young (Born in November 1996), Cordinier didn’t make the U18 French team roster participating to the Mannhein tournament in April. He was widely seen as an after-thought in that geeneration and very few expected him to have even a limited role on this team.
One game (vs Lithuania), 31 minutes and a couple thunderous athletic dunks and highlight plays later, Cordinier was suddenly seen as the most intriguing prospect on that U18 French squad. An explosive athlete, Cordinier has the ability to finish well above the rim with ease, regularity and against contact. His 35 inches + vertical makes him a very well-rounded player and a terror all over the court. It is not rare to see him come from the weakside to block a shot at the rim or dunk the ball on offensive rebounds. Fors his size and position, Cordineir is a phenomenal rebounder. He averaged over 10 boards per 40 minutes at the U18 European Championship.
His ball-handling skill and quick first step make of him a permanent threat in open court situations. On the contrary to many French players with god-given athletic abilities, the young shooting-guard has already a well-developed shooting touch from long range. His mechanic is fundamentally sound, his release very quick, and his shot almost unblockable thanks to the elevation on his jump-shot and high point of release. He shot 38% from 3 at the U18 European Championship (7/18) and, with a bigger sample size, 37% at the espoir level last season (18/49) where he only attempted about two threes per contest.
His mid-range game is still a work in progress as is his decision making process (averages over 1 turnover/10 minutes played). Cordinier will probably become analytics specialists favorite prospect very soon when they will look at his shot-chart. Cordinier takes the vast majority os his shot at the rim or from beyond the three point line. Defensively, Cordinier uses his footspeed to be a very aggressive on the ball-defender (2 steals per game last season). He tends to lack focus and concentration when defending on the weakside and gets surprised from time to time on backdoor cuts. As he matures and keeps polishing his game with more video-room work , this is the kind of mistake that should be removed of his game.
By opting to leave Antibes and go north to Evreux and ProB, Cordinier chose the hard road and will be tested mentally and physically this season. He will have to fight for minutes against guys 10 years older than him and who are used to the ups and downs of the long ProB season. The coach, Remy Valin, is known for giving opportunities to young players, he will have to seize it and earn every single second on the court. Moreover, Cordinier will have to face as strong and physical competition as he has ever face. If ProB is not know for the high skill level of its players, it has made a name for itself as a very brutal and tough league. Still a little bit skinny and light for those tough battles, Cordinier will need to hit the weight room but at age 17, time is on his side. Developing his upper-body strength without losing one ounce of mobility and explosiveness will be a challenge.
This season is going to be extremely interesting in that regard and be convinced that other highly-touted French prospects will be closely looking at how his expereince pans out. Be that as it may, even though Cordinier still has ways to go in every basketball skills department, he has shown enough glimpses over the past 6 months to prove that he will be a very serious draft candidate down the road.
His old friend from the French Mediterranean coast, Timothe Luwawu will also discover ProB this season. Luwawu decided not to leave Antibes despite being awarded limited playing time last season in Pro A (total of 4 games played). Luwawu was less of an unknown coming into this summer. One of the best players in the Espoirs league last season (17 points, 7 rebounds per game), he had never participated to a international youth tournament with a French national team.A year younger than most of his teammates (1995 born), Luwawu did not have a major impact statistically (11 minutes, 4 points per game and only 35 shots taken) but showed flashes of tremendous potential. Often compared to Axel Toupane, Luwawu is a better athlete and simply a better offensive player than Toupane.
Standing at 6’7 (and a great wingspan) Luwawu can handle the ball, create off the dribble and get to the rim in a hurry thanks to his length and athleticism. An excellent slasher, Luwawu loves to move without the ball and make multiple plays each game on cuts to the basket. Luwawu is an excellent rebounder and an unselfish passer as he never hesitates to make the extra dish to an open teammate. Nevertheless, it’s without any doubt on the other end of the floor that Luwawu possesses the most potential. Long, mobile, athletic, Luwawu can defend 3 position. He is usually picked by coaching staffs to guard the opponent’s best wing player. He moves his feet extremely well and can force the offensive player to take tough contested jumpers.
In order to have a shot at a first round selection at the NBA draft, Luwawu will now need to add meat to his lanky frame and develop his mid-range and outside game (33% from long-range last season). A dominant player at the U20 level last season, Luwawu has the trust of his coaches this season and should be a big piece of Antibes’ rotation. He took advantage of this situation in a very nice way last week by scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 boards against Hyeres-Toulon.
Luwawu and Cordinier both showed tremendous promises this summer, it is now confirmation time.
Twitter of the author: @BBfromLA
Photo: INSEP / FIBA Europe
Antibes has been a very hot spot when it comes to French prospects over the past few years with the likes of Killian Tillie (’98), William Pfiister (’95) , Timothé Luwawu (’95) and Isaia Cordinier (’96) coming up the ranks of their youth teams. If Tillie (INSEP) and Pfiister (Northwest Florida State College) will have to wait a few more years before going Pro, Luwawu and Cordinier will discover the daily grind of being a professional ball player this season. They are the two main attractions of the French second division. Timothe Luwawu (Antibes, ’95) and Isaia Cordinier (Evreux, ’96) will go through the interminable 2014-2015 ProB season, which started last week, as they look to increase their stock and build on a strong summer. These two prospects have very similar stories and backgrounds. They are late-bloomers, they never made it to INSEP or a major French basketball institution, they are extremely athletic and both of them had their coming out parties in front of NBA scout this summer, at the U20 and U18 European Championship. Among two very weak generation of players for the French national teams, Cordinier and Luwawu stood out and at least put their names on the map.
At 6’5,180 pounds with long arms and dynamite in the legs, Cordinier was probably one of the biggest suprises at youth tournaments this summer. Despite having a pretty good season at the espoir level in France for a player that young (Born in November 1996), Cordinier didn’t make the U18 French team roster participating to the Mannhein tournament in April. He was widely seen as an after-thought in that geeneration and very few expected him to have even a limited role on this team.
One game (vs Lithuania), 31 minutes and a couple thunderous athletic dunks and highlight plays later, Cordinier was suddenly seen as the most intriguing prospect on that U18 French squad. An explosive athlete, Cordinier has the ability to finish well above the rim with ease, regularity and against contact. His 35 inches + vertical makes him a very well-rounded player and a terror all over the court. It is not rare to see him come from the weakside to block a shot at the rim or dunk the ball on offensive rebounds. Fors his size and position, Cordineir is a phenomenal rebounder. He averaged over 10 boards per 40 minutes at the U18 European Championship.
His ball-handling skill and quick first step make of him a permanent threat in open court situations. On the contrary to many French players with god-given athletic abilities, the young shooting-guard has already a well-developed shooting touch from long range. His mechanic is fundamentally sound, his release very quick, and his shot almost unblockable thanks to the elevation on his jump-shot and high point of release. He shot 38% from 3 at the U18 European Championship (7/18) and, with a bigger sample size, 37% at the espoir level last season (18/49) where he only attempted about two threes per contest.
His mid-range game is still a work in progress as is his decision making process (averages over 1 turnover/10 minutes played). Cordinier will probably become analytics specialists favorite prospect very soon when they will look at his shot-chart. Cordinier takes the vast majority os his shot at the rim or from beyond the three point line. Defensively, Cordinier uses his footspeed to be a very aggressive on the ball-defender (2 steals per game last season). He tends to lack focus and concentration when defending on the weakside and gets surprised from time to time on backdoor cuts. As he matures and keeps polishing his game with more video-room work , this is the kind of mistake that should be removed of his game.
By opting to leave Antibes and go north to Evreux and ProB, Cordinier chose the hard road and will be tested mentally and physically this season. He will have to fight for minutes against guys 10 years older than him and who are used to the ups and downs of the long ProB season. The coach, Remy Valin, is known for giving opportunities to young players, he will have to seize it and earn every single second on the court. Moreover, Cordinier will have to face as strong and physical competition as he has ever face. If ProB is not know for the high skill level of its players, it has made a name for itself as a very brutal and tough league. Still a little bit skinny and light for those tough battles, Cordinier will need to hit the weight room but at age 17, time is on his side. Developing his upper-body strength without losing one ounce of mobility and explosiveness will be a challenge.
This season is going to be extremely interesting in that regard and be convinced that other highly-touted French prospects will be closely looking at how his expereince pans out. Be that as it may, even though Cordinier still has ways to go in every basketball skills department, he has shown enough glimpses over the past 6 months to prove that he will be a very serious draft candidate down the road.
His old friend from the French Mediterranean coast, Timothe Luwawu will also discover ProB this season. Luwawu decided not to leave Antibes despite being awarded limited playing time last season in Pro A (total of 4 games played). Luwawu was less of an unknown coming into this summer. One of the best players in the Espoirs league last season (17 points, 7 rebounds per game), he had never participated to a international youth tournament with a French national team.A year younger than most of his teammates (1995 born), Luwawu did not have a major impact statistically (11 minutes, 4 points per game and only 35 shots taken) but showed flashes of tremendous potential. Often compared to Axel Toupane, Luwawu is a better athlete and simply a better offensive player than Toupane.
Standing at 6’7 (and a great wingspan) Luwawu can handle the ball, create off the dribble and get to the rim in a hurry thanks to his length and athleticism. An excellent slasher, Luwawu loves to move without the ball and make multiple plays each game on cuts to the basket. Luwawu is an excellent rebounder and an unselfish passer as he never hesitates to make the extra dish to an open teammate. Nevertheless, it’s without any doubt on the other end of the floor that Luwawu possesses the most potential. Long, mobile, athletic, Luwawu can defend 3 position. He is usually picked by coaching staffs to guard the opponent’s best wing player. He moves his feet extremely well and can force the offensive player to take tough contested jumpers.
In order to have a shot at a first round selection at the NBA draft, Luwawu will now need to add meat to his lanky frame and develop his mid-range and outside game (33% from long-range last season). A dominant player at the U20 level last season, Luwawu has the trust of his coaches this season and should be a big piece of Antibes’ rotation. He took advantage of this situation in a very nice way last week by scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 boards against Hyeres-Toulon.
Luwawu and Cordinier both showed tremendous promises this summer, it is now confirmation time.
Twitter of the author: @BBfromLA
Photo: INSEP / FIBA Europe
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