Riders duo Crandall and Johnson in All-Star Five
CHELSEA’S FORMER FRENCH DEFENDER LEBOEUF CLAIMS FOFANA IS AN ‘EXTRATERRESTRIAL’
TABLE-TOPPING Leicester Riders have two players in the BBL AllStar Five after a pair of wins last week in the BBL Championship.
No player has posted a tripledouble in the BBL yet this season, but Riders’ Geno Crandall, pictured below, gets close to the rare statistical feat on a weekly basis.
In Riders’ win at Manchester Giants on Sunday, his 21 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, punctuated by perhaps the dunk of the season, was delivered in just 23 minutes, as he picked up three fouls in the first half.
For Crandall – also the Molten Player of the Month in January – it’s a fifth appearance in seven weeks, having not appeared in any of the first eight weeks.
Corey Johnson, Leicester’s longrange sharp-shooter, was Crandall’s partner in crime at the National Basketball Performance Centre, torching the Giants for a game-high 24 points, on 62 per cent interior shooting and 42 per cent from deep.
Johnson also had seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, including a third quarter triple that tied the game before Riders made their big push.
Joining the Riders duo in the All Star Five are
Justin Satchell, newly signed with the
Giants, Jordan
Ratinho of
Sheffield
Sharks and
Kahron
Ross of
Cheshire
Phoenix.
Riders are next in action at the Morningside Arena on Friday evening (7.30pm) against the Worcester Wolves in the BBL Championship, with the game being shown live on Sky Sports.
WESLEY Fofana has been tipped to reach the top and then go further to become an out-of-thisworld centre-back.
The Leicester City star, right, is a favourite of former Chelsea and France defender Frank Leboeuf, who believes the 20-year-old can become an “extraterrestrial” and be a stalwart of the French national team in the near future.
That is not to say he does not have qualities now, with Leboeuf pointing out his speed – “he’s as fast as Mbappe” – and his defensive know-how.
Asked by Actufoot for the defender he liked the look of, Leboeuf, above, replied: “Wesley Fofana of Leicester.
“He works hard, he’s a real defender and if the club is at the top, it’s partly thanks to him. He is 20 years old and he knows how to defend.
“The kid was insulted when he left Saint-Etienne. Everyone said to themselves ‘He’s another one who took the money too early.’
“But he is extraordinary! He goes as fast as Mbappe, he’s already a great player.
“Well, you shouldn’t tell him that otherwise it could turn his head, but it shows.
“If I am (France boss) Didier Deschamps, I’m thinking about him.
“If Fofana manages to reach the maturity of (PSG’s Presnel) Kimpembe, we have two extraterrestrials, two monsters in defence.”
Fofana was overlooked by the French national setup for a long time, and only received his first call-up to their Under-21 squad last October.
It may be difficult for him to break into the senior squad, as Deschamps has a wealth of options at centre-back, including Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet, Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, Leipzig’s Dayot
Upamecano, as well as Bayern Munich duo Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. With the European Championships approaching, Leboeuf suggested Fofana would miss out with Deschamps going for experience.
He said: “I am delighted for France, for the France team and for Didier (Deschamps). It is a king’s choice.
“Of course, experience counts and you can’t always launch young people like that.
“We observed it with Upamecano for whom it was very complicated when he arrived with Les Bleus.
“Now, it is only Didier who can sense if it is the moment for Fofana and we will trust him. “In any case, it’s fabulous to see all these kids being able to play for the France team.” Fofana is currently injured with a hamstring injury and has missed City’s last six games in all competitions. He is due to return to fitness in early March.