Kone hopes to make positive impact as Cote d'Ivoire seek return to U18 AfroBasket

 

ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) – Coach Doh Kone is gradually carving a niche for himself as a reputable manager on the domestic scene.

Kone was first appointed in 2022 as an assistant coach to Cote d'Ivoire's main team to work with Coach Dejan Prokic.

He coached local side Treichville Sports Club (CSA-Treichville) whose current workforce is 90 percent young players. This is coupled with the fact that he started coaching in the club training center (AWANE) where he had the chance to supervise all categories.

At the 2023 FIBA AfroCan held in Angola, Kone guided Cote d'Ivoire to a silver medal finish after falling 78-76 to Morocco.

Kone and Cote d'Ivoire celebrate silver medal at 2023 FIBA AfroCan in Luanda

With Cote d'Ivoire eager to make a positive impact at this year's FIBA Africa U18 Championship billed for South Africa in August, Kone has been saddled with the responsibility of grabbing a qualification ticket at the Zone 3 Qualifiers on home soil July 29-August 4, 2024.

The Ivorians have been seeking a return to the championship's Final Round since 2016 when they last featured and Coach Kone, based on his track record, insists that he and his crew are ready to get the job done.

He told FIBA.basketball that he is on familiar terrain with players from the local scene and understands the mandate of the federation for him to secure a qualification ticket for the Final Round in South Africa.

Cote d'Ivoire finished 8th in the 11-team 2016 FIBA U18 African Championship in Kigali

"It's very exciting for me to be at the head of this team. I have acquired experience by occupying respectively the positions of Assistant Coach of seniors at the World Cup and Head Coach of the AfroCan. And I think it's because of this experience that the federation trusted the AfroCan staff in us returning with the U18s. This is a big challenge and we are working hard to be at the height of the task entrusted to us."

Aside from working hard to make this work, there is a bigger motivation. It is that Kone missed playing at this level in his career growing up. He says that he is eager to make up for the lost opportunity by leading his team to secure a place in the Final Round.

"I think the task is difficult as the level of the U18s in our country currently is average but although competition at this level now is very high as more and more U18s are evolving professionally and even already with their first national teams, we're working round the clock to be ready."

Though the task before Kone and his crew is tough given that Cote d’Ivoire is making a return since 2016 when the Young Elephants finished in 8th place, he admits that there is a driving force to achieve the dreams of the federation.

Coach Kone (2023 FIBA AfroCan)

"Before the Baccalaureate exams we had a problem with player irregularities but from June 24 (after the BAC), the work continued with the entire workforce. We have also received players from outside and the training camp is currently going very well except that the small difficulty is that they come one after the other," he stated

Aside the camp now in full swing, the Cote d'Ivoire Basketball Federation has gone a step further to boost the team with an additional technical assistance.  "The federation also saw it fit to bring in Coach Miguel Oyo, Assistant Coach of the A team, to help us. He came to work with us for a week and will return the day before the playoffs. Otherwise, the training camp continues every day at the Treichville Sports Palace in good conditions."

Back in 2012, Cote d'Ivoire had its best outing with a silver medal in Maputo, Mozambique. An opportunity to take the country to 7th appearance remains top on his agenda but he says the first task is a qualification slot.

Kone notes that the federation is very ambitious for this competition, which is why it decided to organize the qualifiers in Abidjan to enable them to participate in this competition and competitively too.

Given that being host does not guarantee them a ticket to the Final Round, Kone says he is not losing sleep over other teams in the Zone because he is already aware of the challenges and as such won’t take any team for granted. 

“There is notably Nigeria which is one of the most successful countries in this competition. So I think Nigeria is a serious competitor to take into account in the qualifiers and not forgetting countries like Benin and Togo which are starting to have a good youth development policy. Every team will come prepared but as host, we can’t afford to take any team for a ride,” he reasoned.

As attractive as the Final Round may seem, Kone is not letting it cloud his sense of reasoning as he insists that for the moment, the objective is fixed on the qualifying phase and after that, he can assess his team’s chances.

"At this moment, my focus is directed to the Zone Qualifiers. Hopefully, we will qualify and only then can we start looking forward to the Final Round in South Africa. As a team, it’s one step at a time," he concluded.

FIBA