Rodrigue Beaubois before being a pro

Watching a new video interview of Rodrigue Beaubois talking about his arrival in France in Cholet, I thought I'd translate it. It complements very well an interview he did six months ago about his time in Guadeloupe, so I translated it as well. Personnally I'm often interested in learning about a player's background.

Hello, my name is Rodrigue Beaubois, I'm 22 years old, I'm from Pointe-à-Pitre ("les Lauriers" district) in Guadeloupe, and I play as a guard for the Dallas Mavericks.

Do you remember how you started playing basketball?
Yes I started when I was seven years old, at the OMS of Pointe-à-Pitre, which was then managed by Didier Baltide.

Why did you choose this sport ?
I wanted to play sports and I had soccer in mind. My mother was in agreement and I was going to register for a soccer team, but one evening, Canal+ (French TV channel broadcasting NBA games, you need to pay to get a watchable picture) forgot to encrypt a quarter of some game. I watched it and I was immediately attracted to basketball. By chance, my neighbor Didier Baltide came the next day to tell me about his basketball association at the OMS of Pointe-à-Pitre. I went to see a practice and then I told my mother that I had changed my mind and wanted to play basketball.

How did you become a pro ?
At fourteen I won the MVP of the GUYMARGUA tournament (GuyMarGua stands for Guyane-Martinique-Guadeloupe, three French overseas territories). It gave me the opportunity to play in the Interzones tournament in France but I didn't play well over there. Some of my teammates like Ludovic Vaty and Leslie Begarin were selected to join the INSEP (French center for the best young athletes, where Parker, Diaw and Turiaf went). Not being selected was very disappointing for me. I thought that my chance to play at a high level had passed by me. I went on playing in Guadeloupe but without any career goals.
Then, Frédéric Fermely, one of my coaches at the New Star (my team in Guadeloupe) motivated me to succeed, even though I thought it was over. My new challenge was to win the U17 championship in Guadeloupe. Two years later, he told me that Jean-François Martin, who coached prospects at Cholet in France, was in Guadeloupe. He gathered fifteen players. A tall guy, about 6"6, was playing, and Jean-François Martin seemed to be only interested by him. As far as I was concerned I thought I went unnoticed. After that workout, my coach drove us (Jean-François Martin, the young center and myself) back to our homes. After we dropped off the tall guy, we arrived at my house and surprise, he told me that he saw instantly that I had potential and asked if he could talk to my parents. They didn't want me to leave before the baccalauréat (high school diploma) but during that meeting he explained how the training center worked, how serious they were about school grades and what a chance it could be to become a pro ballplayer one day.
He came back to Guadeloupe later to finalize my departure for Cholet. He was able to see me play at the Mickaël Pietrus camp, with a U17 Guadeloupe team.
I stayed in Cholet from 2005 to 2009 and then I was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks.

Rodrigue Beaubois à propos de ses débuts à Cholet Basket
envoyé par basketfrance. - Regardez plus de vidéo de sport et de sports extrêmes.

How did you adapt to Cholet ?
At the beginning it was tough, mostly because of the new schedule. In Guadeloupe I had two or three practices a week. In Cholet I had to practice every day. During preparation time it was even two practices a day. So I injured myself repeatedly. I missed the first half of my first season and a lot of games after. It took me more than six months to adapt to this new rhythm and to the higher level of intensity. That said, I felt very good off the court. I adapted quickly thanks to the organization at Cholet Basket and all the good people who were there to help. It was a different culture but there were many other players from the French West Indies (Antilles), I wasn't alone.

Other interesting questions:

How do you feel about living far from Guadeloupe and from your family ?
I've been in this situation for several years now so I'm used to it, but I sometimes feel homesick. What I miss the most is my family, my friends and everything that has to do with my island like the beach, the sun and the cooking (shrimp dombré).

What are your biggest achievements?
I've won the Guadeloupe championship as well as the Guadeloupe cup several times, when playing with the New Star in youth categories. I won the MVP award of the GuyMarGua tournament. With Cholet Basket, we finished 3rd in the U17 French Championship, we won the "semaine des As" (pro tournament) in 2008 and we went to the Eurocup finals against Bologna in 2009.

Which players inspired you ?
The player who inspired me the most was Michael Jordan, especially when I was a child. Otherwise I try to learn from every good players.

Who's the best NBA Point Guard?
There are so many great players at that position, it's hard to pick one. I think I'd go with Deron Williams, and of course my mentor Jason Kidd.

How do you work on the mental aspect of basketball ?
I've got help for this, I work with Irvin Fess, my personal coach in Dallas, and I talk a lot with my entourage.


What parts of your game are you trying to improve ?
I try to make progress in every aspects of my game. This year I worked a lot on my mid-range game. I have a lot of work to do.

As a rookie, which unrewarding task were you assigned to ?
My mission was to go buy chicken for the whole team every time we had a flight.

Do you play other sports ? What's your favorite one ?
I'm not allowed to play other sports but I'm a soccer fan. My favorite team is the Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo is my favorite player.

What were your biggest satisfactions and disappointments in sports ?
My biggest satisfactions were the MVP at the GuyMarGua tournament and the NBA draft. My biggest disappointment was our defeat in Eurocup finals in 2009 because I didn't play my game.

What are your goals ?
I want to be NBA champion and to win medals with the French national team.

All questions except the one under the video come from this nice interview for Sport-97, a website about sports in the French West Indies and Guyane. I scrapped many questions, mostly because it's old (before the playoffs).