IS FOURNIER FOR REAL?

By: Wyatt Nebergall

(in the photo above you’ll see a bunch of happy faces flaunting their, just earned, bronze medals, but front an center you see Evan Fournier, no smile, not showing off his medal.)

ESPN called Evan Fournier the most unstoppable player in Fiba basketball this tournament and at times he surely looked like it. Even questionable looks seemed to find their way into the net. Sounds like the Orlando Magic swingman had a successful tournament so why the long face Evan?

While it was “great” to finish with a bronze he felt like they had what it took to win it all. When asked how much his disappointment would fuel him for the Tokyo Olympics he responded, “it’s not just Tokyo it’s my career for me as a person I’ll remember this loss to Argentina my whole life it has to be a lesson.” He was then asked did it mean more to win the bronze or to beat team USA and he responded “to be honest I don’t care about either. Both are good but we came here for Gold.”

FIRE ME UP!

This guy is HUNGRY, he finished that particular interview with a very wise statement on how his career may only be 10-12 years long and you have to make the most of that time.

Evan faced a lot of criticism from Magic fans last year when we saw his shooting percentages take an unexpected dip. Something he himself was very much aware of and you can tell it weighs heavy on him. In episode 9 (TEAM) of “Fournier for Real” his friend and agent asked, what would you change to have “Super Evan” here right now?”

His response, “hit my shots, its easier when you hit your shots”.

His FG% of 43.8% last season was good compared to how his season started. (don’t throw things at me) however down even from his career averages of 44.6%

Okay I’m done boring you with numbers… So what gives? What changed? If you ask coach Clifford he’d tell you, “He’s (Evan) never guarded as many primary scorers as he did this last year. I think that could definitely could be a factor. I mean he guarded great players – great wing players.”

If you ask Evan he says “he doesn’t know why” and that’s because he’s a high character guy who isn’t allowing the greater defensive expectations to be an excuse. Evan holds himself to such a high standard from his workouts, his diet (has his own chef), his schedule, and the personal team he’s built around himself.

Trust me, you bashing him on Twitter isn’t going to bother him, he’s harder on himself than you could ever be towards him. However, I wouldn’t bet against him this season. Coach Cliff spoke at length in his interview with John Denton of Orlandomagic.com about the benefits of the guys who play FIBA tournament over the summer. “I think those guys will come here and be in a rhythm and in great shape. Most coaches I’ve talked to have told me they like it when their guys play (international competitions) because those guys are farther ahead.” Even one of his closest coaching friends said “players have their best years after playing (international competitions)”

Evan doesn’t have to be THE MAN on his Orlando Magic team this season. JI has apparently developed a beautiful outside shot and bulked up. AG has been practicing being better in the post and ISO ball. Vuc, Khem, Chief (Aminu), all will also be carrying the momentum of FIBA competition into training camp. They’ve had 2 weeks of optional workouts where most of the team has been in the gym working hard. Evan is the easiest example to pull of a player being locked in on winning it all, but as Mo Bamba tweeted out a few days ago, “this is a statement year for everybody”

I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions! Be sure to find me on Twitter @The_Wyatt_Alan and if you aren’t yet follow, @thecloseupmagic where we keep the dialogue going. Show em your stuff Magic Kingdom!

 

By: Wyatt Nebergall