2009-10 Team Profile: Le Mans
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Le Mans Sarthe Basket enters the 2009-10 Eurocup looking to establish itself as a power in the competition after several years of experience one step higher. The 2008-09 Euroleague season was tough to swallow for Le Mans, which started with five straight losses by fewer than 5 points – including two in overtime – showing it could compete with the best, but struggling to get results. A year later this growing French power is a year more experienced and ready to show that, despite losing in the Euroleague qualifying rounds, it has all the tools to succeed in the Eurocup. Le Mans is one of the oldest teams in France and has a long story to tell. Its first trophy was conquered back in 1964, when it lifted the French Cup. The club proved its commitment to consistency by returning to the cup final again the next season and once more in 1970. The fan base grew with as many as 8,000 coming to home games in those years with devoted followers of players like Christian Baltzer and Pierre Cordevant. By the middle part of the next decade, its efforts started to show in the French League, too, where success started coming to Le Mans in flurries. Le Mans followed its first national title in 1978 - with Baltzer back as club president, Bill Sweek as coach, Lloyd King and James Lister as stars - with another one in 1979. The club made it to three more finals, but had to settle for being runner-up. That only motivated the club to win a third title in 1982, a victory whose joy was short-lived when coach Bob Purkasher was killed in a car accident after the season. A descent into second division followed, ending in 1991, and it wasn’t long before Le Mans was on the rise again. Some of the best French players – including Herve Dubuisson, Eric Beugnot, Stephane Ostrowski and Jean-Claude Sylva – have worn the Le Mans jersey, as have top foreigners such as King, Floyd Allen, Larry Lawrence and Huseyin Besok. In 2002-03, Le Mans finished third in the French League regular season, which set up its outstanding 2003-04 campaign. Le Mans won the French Cup and finished first in the French League regular season, although it lost in the playoff semifinals. Its ULEB Cup season was bittersweet too, as Le Mans missed the playoffs by a single victory. In the 2005-06 season, Le Mans won both the French League and Semaine des As titles by playing crowd-pleasing basketball under Vicent Collet, a Le Mans legend after 16 seasons as a player and coach. That success led to its first Euroleague appearance, in 2006-07. The past few seasons have been similar, with several narrow Euroleague losses keeping the team from the Top 16, while the French League playoff runs came to an end in the semifinals. Last season did bring some consolation in the form of the Semaine des As title. All told, Le Mans has been a consistent force in French basketball and will try to prove it again this season in the Eurocup!
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com
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