[Testimony] Mehdy Ngouama tells us his incredible journey
March 2, 2021
Gabriel Pantel-Jouve
Mehdy Ngouama to join ASVEL as medical replacement
EuroLeague - Mehdy Ngouama will reinforce ASVEL for several weeks as a medical replacement. The former Paris player, who played for Bourg, Le Mans and Gran Canaria last season, will discover EuroLeague under his former teammate Pierric Poupet.
Photo Credit : Jacques Cormarèche
While ASVEL had to play without Thomas Heurtel, Nando De Colo and Shaquille Harrison during their victory at Saint-Quentin this Sunday, the Villeurbanne club is preparing to welcome Mehdy Ngouama (1.88m, 30 years old).
According to our information, the Parisian guard will join the Rhône club as a medical replacement for several weeks. This temporary reinforcement will allow Pierric Poupet to expand his backcourt options, weakened by three injuries (Thomas Heurtel, Nando De Colo and Shaquille Harrison), during a busy period between Betclic ELITE and EuroLeague.
An explosive player for ASVEL
Without a club since last spring, the 2024 EuroCup winner with Paris Basketball comes off a busy season marked by three successive experiences: JL Bourg, Le Mans Sarthe Basket – where he reunited with Guillaume Vizade – then Gran Canaria, with whom he played in the EuroCup final.
Stats 2024-2025 / Betclic ELITE
PTS
9.4
#70
REB
2.3
#134
AST
2.5
#59
Seen in Bayern Munich colors during preseason, a EuroLeague team, Mehdy Ngouama will now discover EuroLeague at age 30. An amazing story for this player with a tumultuous journey, who lost hearing in one ear at age 9 due to viral meningitis and had to take unconventional paths.
A former Gifi temp worker, brought back to basketball thanks to Guerschon Yabusele’s intervention, after experiencing depression and sleeping on the streets, the future ASVEL player had to wait until age 22 to get a chance in professional basketball. An opportunity given by Denain, where a certain… Pierric Poupet, the current ASVEL coach, was playing.
« Pierric Poupet was a true mentor for me »
While Mehdy Ngouama was often frustrated in the North, unhappy with his usage by Rémy Valin (« he knew he had a bomb in his hands but didn’t really use me »), competing with American Jay Threatt for minutes, the Blanc-Mesnil native was mentored by his elder who played the same position. This past connection could facilitate his integration into a rebuilding roster that has been frequently reshuffled in recent weeks.
« I really like the basketball Villeurbanne produces, what Pierric Poupet brings as a coach, » the Parisian told us last February. « As a side note, we won the Pro B Leaders Cup together at Denain. He was a true mentor for me. Did I imagine him having this trajectory? Yes and no. He landed in the right place at the right time but he managed to establish his identity. He has a great basketball analysis, a great philosophy, which he was able to apply and I’m really happy for him. »
With his explosiveness, defense and energy, Ngouama could quickly establish himself as a valuable asset in the Villeurbanne rotation, which operates with a limited roster while competing in both Betclic ELITE (30 regular season games) and EuroLeague (38 regular season games).
Gabriel Pantel-Jouve est le fondateur et rédacteur en chef de BeBasket, qu’il anime depuis 2010 (sous le nom de Catch & Shoot). Passé par l’Ecole Publique de Journaliste de Tours, puis deux universités en Amérique du Nord, il a pu développer son expertise sur le basket français, de la Ligue Nationale aux divisions amateurs, durant ces 20 dernières années. En parallèle, il est aussi engagé dans le développement de clubs du côté de Montpellier.
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