An angry dunk, an authoritarian counter.
With Ismaël Kamagate the spectacle is permanent.
Not a week, not a match, goes by without the young pivot of Paris Basketball being illustrated by a decisive and / or spectacular action.
All at only 20 years old.
Last weekend, during the victory against Pau (89-76), he finished co-leading scorer with 18 units… including a few dunks of course.
Now his trademark, a sort of signature.
However, for a long time, this great shy person played it discreetly on the floor on championship nights.
Able to "slam riders"
(spectacular action which consists of passing the ball between his legs during the jump before the spike)
in training or on the playgrounds with his friends thanks to an arm span of 2.21 m and a great explosiveness, he preferred to shoot from a distance or "pass the ball to a partner" in a match.
"I didn't dare to realize it before and I still don't see myself yelling at an opponent after a dunk, but I was told that it could give a positive energy to my partners so I force my nature", says this great 2.11 m stakes.
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Awareness and development beneficial for him and his club, promoted to Elite. The one who calls himself “iampaslong” on his networks - “because I'm not that tall,” he laughs - is one of the revelations of the season. In October he set the record for blocks (9) for a Frenchman in a match. “He works a lot and knows what he wants, assures Bienvenu Kindoki, assistant at Paris Basketball. He is humble and always up for work. In the morning, on rest days, at any time, if he is told to come he will be there. Its progression is logical and deserved but there is still a lot of work. "
The path that awaits him does not frighten him.
On the contrary.
This true Parisian titi - he was born in the XIXth arrondissement and grew up in the XIVth - started basketball “around 10 or 11 years old” at the JAM (Jeunesse Athlétique de Montrouge) to “channel [his] energy”.
“I was doing too much stupidity at school, I got confused because I was provoked, remembers the person concerned.
One day the director called my mother to tell her that I had to channel myself and that I had to play sports.
I started with football, I was in goal but I didn't like it too much, I had nothing to do.
As I was already grown up, I tried basketball.
" Love at first sight is immediate.
"In the field I forgot all my troubles," he says.
"Paris is my home"
After the JAM, the “little Ismaël” studied in different clubs in the Ile-de-France region, but only the one in Orléans believed in him and offered him a project. He left his cocoon at 16 to live his dream. In 2019, Jean-Christophe Prat, coach of Paris Basketball, who aims to compose a team with young players from the Ile-de-France region, reminds him “at home”. His last outing with Orléans will be remembered: on Saturday Kamagate scored 49 points against Limoges in Espoirs then 36 points the next day against Le Havre with the Cadets.
He is now one of the best ambassadors of the Parisian project.
One of the main headliners.
"I am attached to this city, Paris is home," says this fan of manga and video games.
I remember as a kid I was going to play on the Carpentier slab.
I didn't know there was a basketball court inside, I thought it was used for badminton or whatever.
And now I play here and young people come to see me I still have to progress in playing the game but I thank the club for trusting me and I am proud to have managed to make a place for me.
I am sometimes surprised at my progress.
"
The staff of the France team amazed by its performance
Kevin Séraphin is not. The former French international and ex-NBA player participated in several training sessions alongside Kamagate to help him progress and gain self-confidence. "It's a sponge, he learns quickly and is very respectful, assures the silver medalist at Euro 2011. Often young people are convinced to know everything, this is not his case. He also had the chance to work with Nico (
Batum
) and Rudy (
Gobert
) this summer. He really impresses me. He moves well for a big one. When I talk about him I'm already talking about an NBA player. I am sure he will be there soon. "He should logically come to the next Draft ...
While waiting for his performances did not go unnoticed and did not escape the staff of the France team. After participating in a first gathering as a training partner this summer before the Tokyo Games, he was again summoned this week by Vincent Collet to participate in the two qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup with the Blues
( against Montenegro on Friday and Hungary on Monday).
“The circumstances (
with the absence of NBA and Euroleague players
) may have accelerated the process but we are sensitive to their performance (
with the point guard Hugo Benitez of 3 days the elder of Kamagate
) since the start of the season, says coach Vincent Collet.
"Isma" was already with us this summer in Pau and he had amazed us by what he did and by his ability to learn.
He is very attentive.
This selection is not a passport
(for the Paris Games in 2024)
but it is a first step… ”