Lithuanian national team head coach Kestutis Kemzura said his players couldn't see the rim when Victor Wembanyama was in the paint.
Victor Wembanyama's size stunned Lithuania national team that suffered a blowout defeat in a home crowd, 65-90.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
23
|
| Victor Wembanyama | |
| Points | 20 |
| Accuracy | 6-13 |
| Rebounds | 9 |
| Assists | 1 |
Victor Wembanyama scored 20 points and had nine rebounds in 23 minutes, but his impact was bigger than a solid stat sheet for an 18-year-old senior national team rookie.
"You can just imagine his size watching him on the internet and videos. But when a player like Victor comes, you realize his true size. He makes a big impact defensively. Even if we get inside in the paint, we couldn't see the rim," Lithuanian coach Kestutis Kemzura recalled after the game.
Lithuania scored only 24 points in the paint compared to France's 48. Before the game, Lithuanians averaged 34.8.
Hosts were 45.7% from the 2-point range and 25% beyond the arc. That was the lowest-scoring game for Lithuania, which won 7 of 8 games before and led Group K.
When Wembanyama was on the court, France outscored Lithuania by 25 points.
"As the coach said, many players hesitated to attack Wembanyama. You kind of feel open, but everybody was so aware of his size that you felt like he was there around, and the hesitation played its part," Marek Blazevic, EuroLeague Rising Star trophy nominee last year, said after the game.
"It's been a while since the last time I met a person who was so taller than me," a 21-year-old Monbus Obradoiro center recalled.
"That really impressed me. His confidence is also exceptional. When you're coming to the national team at 18, and you're not afraid of playing one-on-one, try throwing a lob off the backboard to yourself... You can definitely see he has a strong mentality," Blazevic continued.
"His body is still evolving, but you can easily see how high his IQ is. He's going to be a tremendous player," Blazevic concluded.
Blazevic didn't need to watch Wemby's YouTube clips to understand his size. The Lithuanian center met him on the court on March 23, when ASVEL defeated Zalgiris behind Wembanyama's 14-point and 5-block performance.
"He really improved his body and added confidence," Blazevic recalled.
"His game style is different. Probably it has to do with the system. In ASVEL, he couldn't dribble the ball from the perimeter to play one-on-one and shoot fadeaways. I would say his body and confidence have changed significantly."
Lithuanians tried to remove Wembanyama's strengths by throwing many different bodies at Wembanyama.
They tried to stop him with 4-man, giving Wembanyama more advantages inside the paint.
Lithuanians also put their stronger centers, sacrificing mid-range or long-range shots.
"I think matching him up with our centers worked better. When we threw 4-man at him, we were hurt by the second chance points," Kemzura pointed out.
Wembanyama grabbed four offensive rebounds, while France scored 18 second-chance points.
A highly anticipated Wembanyama debut in the French national team drew a sell-out crowd in Panevezys.
Around 5000 basketball fans packed Panevezio arena, which is really rare in this city.
They left the gym disgraced by their teams' performance. But many of them witnessed that Wembanyama was worth the hype.
Victor Wembanyama highlights
Victor Wembanyama reacts to his French NT debut:
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