Bad weather for the French in Spain! Just like Thomas Heurtel at Real Madrid† Amine Noua (2.03 m, 25 years old) was fired by Andorra for “technical reasons”. At a press conference on Friday, coach David Eudal indicated that the Venissian would not make either of the next two trips (this Sunday to Malaga and Wednesday to Gran Canaria) in order to remain in the Principality to work individually. “No one is essential and we have already proven that,” said deputy Paco Vazquez, as Andorra is going through a period of turbulence. “This decision is based on many factors and that is why we made it. †
But unlike his compatriot Real Madrid, the French international (9 selections) already had a way out. He had reached an agreement with SIG Strasbourg since the end of last week and on Monday the formalization fell: Noua joined the ranks of the Alsatian club until the end of the season, in the form of a loan. This is how he will find the Andorran club – who just announced the arrival of another interior, TJ Cline – in 2022-2023.
Hit by a “long COVID”
Either undoubtedly a step back, or at least a step aside, for Amine Noua. Asked by Daily sports in November he had made these comments. “Now that I have moved to another country, I want to stay abroad as long as possible. I want to show that I can be a great player in a great team. Inevitably, the confluence of events proves that he didn’t know how to do it. Slightly more responsible in EuroCup (19 minutes) than in Liga Endesa (17 minutes), he did not really convince in the two competitions, with averages of 6.4 points on 43% and 2.3 rebounds , despite some high-level flashes ( 19 points in Seville for his first in Spain or 26 points in Badalone in October). But since the beginning of December, mostly disrupted by injuries and especially a long COVID, he had only once (out of nine) crossed the 6-point bar in Liga Endesa.
“We are very pleased to be able to add a player of this level to our team, said his new coach Lassi Tuovi† One of the most important elements is that we attract a player who knows the championship, who has already won it and who has experience of what it’s like to be part of a winning team. I know it is never easy for a player to join a new team at this time of the season, but after my conversations with Amine I am very optimistic that he will bring us what we need: experience, size, scoring, but also the mentality we need to have in this last part of the season. He had a difficult season at Andorra and it is also our job to help him regain his confidence and basketball. I am very happy to have him in the group and have every confidence for this end of the season.”
Child of ASVEL, three-time champion of France with Lyon-Villeurbanne, Amine Noua will thus discover for the first time another French club, the one that was close to AS Monaco two years ago. His experience with the peaks will certainly be crucial at the end of the SIG season, starting with the Coupe de France final in two weeks against Élan Béarnais. A personal hat-trick at Bercy (after 2019 and 2021) would already be a great way to forget his first failed expatriation… before he tries to come back with full confidence.
A group of 11 players on the return of John Roberson
With Amine Noua in its ranks, and perhaps eventually the return of John Roberson, the SIG will have a rich workforce to close out the season. Indeed, while Jordan Howard is under contract until the end of the season, the staff will have a pool of 11 players at their disposal, to the extent that Jaromir Bohacik is no longer allowed to play.
- Position 1: Jordan Howard and John Roberson (?)
- 1/2: Jean Baptiste Maille
- 2/3: DeAndre Lansdowne
- 3/2: Kam Taylor
- 3: Gaylor Curier
- 4/3: Matt Mitchell
- 4: Amine Noua
- 4/5: Leopold Cavaliere
- 5/4: Yannis Morin and Ike Udanoh
