Eurobasket - Afrobasket

After having competed and reached the semifinals in the Afrobasket 2013 as assistant coach with Ivory Coast National Team,  and once the Eurobasket is over, I think it could be interesting to take a look at the Champions of these competitions. 

We all know pretty well the French team, and I'll show some details of their offense. But in Europe we often forget how quickly African basketball is growing, they're not "only athletic players" anymore, and the coaching level and their organizations are getting better and better. So I'd like to focus first in the African Champion.

Angola showed solid basketball at both ends of the court. Intensity on defense, rebounding dominance and a great use of their players' skills on offense. 

They have been the best team feeding their bigs in the offensive transition, with Moore, Gomes, Mingas and Ambrosio running the floor well and getting the position early in their offense. Straight passes from the point guards and the wings, and a smooth high / low game between the big guys. The way they used their bodies to get the position inside, allowing an easier pass from high post was excellent. 

Having the best African shooting guard helps, but still you need to find him and give him space to play. They did this with Carlos Morais, running a bunch of sets to get him free, some widely played nowadays in most European top level teams. They executed these plays really well and he did an excellent job all along the tournament.

Morais himself was elected the Afrobasket MVP and might end up signing a contract with the Toronto Raptors to be the first Angolan player in the NBA. He's not only a deadly shooter, but also has a high basketball IQ to read the defense and make the right decision (shot, drive) He can crush the boards to get offensive rebounds and on the defensive end, he showed nice efforts and a good overall activity.

Now, France was supposed to miss some of their stars, but they played as a team, and once again they were led by Tony Parker. 

There are two situations I'd like to show you, the first one is a small variation of the classic high middle screen. France run it following a down screen for the big guy who was setting the screen for Parker. It's interesting to see how the French star manages to go right every single time when using (or rejecting) the pick (according to synergy technology, during the last NBA season, he scored 1'163 points per possession when he drives right from the top, and 0'969 points per possession when he goes left)

The second video shows how France involved weak side players on their offense. When the ball goes inside, or to the high post, there's a player cutting to the basket from the opposite side. They found very good scoring options along the Eurobasket.

Good basketball here, there, everywhere...