Cholet Basket is a professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
club that is based in
Cholet
Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The club plays in the
French League. Their home arena is
La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 1998 and 1999, Cholet won the
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
.
History
Establishment
The team debuted in the 1st division in the 1987–88 season and after managing to get to the premier league in only 12 years. The team were able to sustain themselves in the league, and were consistently in the top 10 teams having a highly successful youth system. This youth system has allowed the club to produce professional players season after season. After winning the National Cup in 1999, Cholet got automatically qualified for its first participation to the
Euroleague (3 victories – 13 defeats). During the 2004–05 season 10 of the 12 players in the first team derived from the youth system. Some of the most illustrious players who had their debut in the team are
Antoine Rigaudeau
Antoine Roger Rigaudeau (born 17 December 1971) is a French former professional basketball player and professional basketball coach. During his playing days, he played at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions. Also during h ...
,
Jim Bilba and
Mickaël Gelabale.
During the 2008–2009 season, Cholet was defeated by
Virtus Bologna
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
in the
EuroChallenge
FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...
's Final (75–77).
In 2010, Cholet finished 1st of the 2009–2010
Pro A League regular season and won the championship after defeating
Le Mans in the Play-Offs Final (81–65). Thanks to its national champion title, Cholet is automatically qualified for the 2010–2011
Euroleague season. Cholet was eliminated during the first round (4 victories – 6 defeats) of the 2010–2011 Euroleague after defeating prestigious (and at the time unbeaten)
Fenerbahçe Ülker (82–78).
In 2011, Cholet, defending its title finished 1st again of the
2011-12 Pro A League regular season and was only defeated during the finals by
SLUC Nancy
Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...
(74-76).
Logos
Youth academy
Cholet Basket is intensively focusing on its Youth Academy to provide players to its professional squad. During the 2004–05 season, 10 of the 12 players of the Pro squad have progressed through the club Youth Academy. It is also one of the only six European clubs to have provided two players to the same
NBA draft in
2009, with Rodrigues Beaubois and Nando De Colo beside
Real Madrid (
2005),
Joventut Badalona
Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...
(
2009),
Fenerbahçe Ülker (
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
),
KK Partizan
Košarkaški klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Партизан, English: Partizan Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Partizan or simply Partizan, is a professional basketball team based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is ...
(
2002) and
Pau-Ortez (
2003).
;Notable Players that have progressed through the Cholet Youth Academy (''Espoirs'')
Players
Retired numbers
Current roster
FIBA Hall of Famers
Season by season
Achievements
* French Championship
Pro A:
2010
*
La Semaine des As Cup: 2008
*
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
: 1998, 1999
* Match des Champions (French
Pro A Champion vs
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
winner): 2010
* Finalist of
Pro A: 1988, 2011
*
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
Finalist: 2005, 2008
* Finalist of the
Tournoi des As Cup: 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1993.
* Champion of Division 2 (now
Pro B): 1986
Notable players
Head coaches
* 1970s: Dragoş Nosievici
* 1987–89: Jean Galle
* 1989–91: Jean-Paul Rebatet
* 1991–95: Laurent Buffard
* 1995–96: Alain Thinet (7 games) then Eric Girard (1 game) then Jean Galle
* 1996–2001: Eric Girard
* 2001–02: Savo Vucević
* 2002–03: Jean-François Martin
* 2003–04:
Erman Kunter
Erman Kunter (born 8 October 1956) is a Turkish-French former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He most recently served as head coach of Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball), Galatasaray, of the Turkish Basketball Super L ...
* 2004–06:
Ruddy Nelhomme
* 2006–10:
Erman Kunter
Erman Kunter (born 8 October 1956) is a Turkish-French former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He most recently served as head coach of Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball), Galatasaray, of the Turkish Basketball Super L ...
* 2010–12:
Erman Kunter
Erman Kunter (born 8 October 1956) is a Turkish-French former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He most recently served as head coach of Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball), Galatasaray, of the Turkish Basketball Super L ...
* 2012–14: Jean-Manuel Sousa
* 2014–15: Laurent Buffard
* 2015–16: Jérôme Navier
* 2016–18: Philippe Hervé
* 2018: Régis Boissié
* 2018–21:
Erman Kunter
Erman Kunter (born 8 October 1956) is a Turkish-French former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He most recently served as head coach of Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball), Galatasaray, of the Turkish Basketball Super L ...
* 2021–present: Laurent Vila
References
External links
Official websiteLNB Club Profile
Euroleague Club Profile
{{FIBA Europe Cup 2022–23
Cholet Basket