 He had just turned 17 back in 2002 when he debuted, for a single minute, in the Euroleague. "I remember it perfectly, because I was so nervous," he says now. "It was a great moment in my career." Ali Traore of Asvel Basket did not see another minute in a Euroleague game for more than seven years, until this season, but it has not taken him long to make the most of a new opportunity. Now 24 and thrust into a major role by another player's injury, Traore leads Asvel in both scoring, with 14.7 points per game, and rebounds, with 5.8 on average. He is one of three players to rank among the Euroleague's best 15 in both categories. Most importantly, though, Asvel is riding a two-game win streak that it will try to keep alive this week during a visit to Fenerbahce Ulker, and Traore's former coach, Bogdan Tanjevic. Asvel had not won back-to-back Euroleague games in more than five years until now, which makes this, as Traore recognizes, another golden opportunity. "Lately, the French basketball teams haven't done a really good job in the Euroleague," Traore told Euroleague.net. "To have that chance is important so we can show Europe we are here and we have good basketball in France. If we manage to qualify for the Top 16, I would be honored and proud. We're on a good path, but we still have a lot of work to do."
How do you and your teammates at Asvel feel after these two wins in a row have you in fourth place in Group A?
"We feel really good about it, especially since we think our chance at qualifying for the Top 16 will fall between Zalgiris, Cibona and us. That makes it like a mini-championship between those three teams. We wanted those two home games in order to give ourselves a chance, and we got them. That made them like a first step in the right direction for us."
How did you guys keep your confidence after losing the first four games?
"For one thing, we thought that we were pretty close to getting some wins in those first four games. That was especially true when we lost against Fenerbahce in overtime. We weren't too far away in others, either. What cost us those games is that we weren't able to be consistent through the whole games. We knew that if we could get more consistent we would get some wins."
Going to Istanbul this week, you have a chance to get revenge on Fenerbahce, although the game might not impact that mini-championship you mentioned. Is it more important to win or to keep playing well?
"We feel we don't have nothing to lose in this game. We will definitely try to get a win, as always, but I think that Fenerbahce has more pressure than us to do that. We come to Istanbul pressure-free, and we want to first play a good game. If we have a chance to win in the end, perfect. If not, we want to make sure we play a good game and get better."
Of course, Fenerbahce is known for all it's young big man - three of them over 2 meters 10. How do you plan to deal with them, especially since Curtis Borchardt is still hurt?
"It's definitely going to be tough. They are some big guys out there, and their coach, Bogdan Tanjevic, I know he has taught them well, because he did the same for me when I started at Asvel. But we dealt pretty well with them the first game we played. I have to pretty much use my speed and overrun them. We'll see if it works."
How has Curtis Borchardts's injury affected you?
"The plan when Curtis came to Asvel was to have a really big man in that paint who I can learn from and who can take care of rebounding and things like that. So it's a shame he got injured. It really hurt us: we lost our biggest guy, our biggest addition. Now, all of us on the team are just trying to do our jobs better. We've got some new players since he was injured, but they're not as Curtis. He's hard to replace."
You are getting more and more help, on the other hand, from young Bangaly Fofana. What can you tell us about him?
"Bangaly really deserves some playing time. He's like our project in Asvel. He's been working hard with Coach Collet for a year now. He's proven himself to be a hard worker and it has been a good thing to see him step up and help us in the Euroleague. Because I definitely need help, and for a young guy to rebound like that in the Euroleague is impressive."
This is becoming a breakout season for you in the Euroleague. Did you expect that after your success in the Eurocup last year and in EuroBasket with the French national team?
"That was my plan, and since Coach Collet is also my national coach, we talked about it this summer. I think that EuroBasket was a good warmup for the Euroleague, because all the best players in Europe were in the same tournament. It showed me that if I could play at that level, I could play well at the Euroleague level, too."
How much of an influence has Coach Vincent Collet been for you?
"He's given me great confidence. When he brought me back to Asvel last year, he told me he would make me improve and show me was high level basketball is. And that's exactly what he has done. He put me on the court here, and then did it even with the national team. We have a great relationship, not only as coach and player, but more like father and son."
Is it accurate to say you have an old-style post-game - hooks shots, for instance - and a newer style, running the floor a lot for a big man, at the same time?
"I think I can do a lot at the offensive end. I can dribble pretty good, so I can face up. I have a little jumper, too. The hook shot is something I developed when Coach Tanjevic was at Asvel. He taught me the hook, and I added that to my offensive arsenal. So it's a pretty good description: I'm a mix of old school and new school."
You had just turned 17 years old when you made your Euroleague debut - for one minute - in 2002. Do you remember?
"I remember it perfectly, because I was so nervous. It was against Cibona. Coach Tanjevic got me in at the end of the game, the last of Euroleague game of the season for us. I grabbed a rebound and I was very proud of that. It was a great moment in my career."
You've come a long way since then. Now Asvel is holding the last Top 16 place in Group A. How much would it mean to you and your teammates to qualify for the next round?
"It would mean a lot. Lately, the French basketball teams haven't done a really good job in the Euroleague. To have that chance is important so we can show Europe we are here and we have good basketball in France. If we manage to qualify for the Top 16, I would be honored and proud. We're on a good path, but we still have a lot of work to do."
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