France Coach Reveals Brutal Victor Wembanyama Assessment In Olympics Loss

Victor Wembanyama is experiencing some growing pains. The San Antonio Spurs star has been incredible for the most part in his first Olympics for host France. However, their final group-stage game against Germany was one to forget.

France got jumped early by Germany in the first half, going down 48-27 after the first half. The French were able to close the distance a bit in the fourth quarter, but it was all in vain. Wembanyama was the leading scorer, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

After the game, Wembanyama admitted that France played better when the ball was swinging. Head coach Vincent Collet agreed with that sentiment but said that Wemby needed to take that advice as well.

“He stopped the ball too much," Collet told reporters. "Against that kind of aggressiveness, you can’t play that way. You are never 1-on-1 because they come to double team and there’s no space to operate. It’s important to move the ball.”

The Germans caught the French team with their pants down in front of their own fans. They capitalized on a slow start to get an 18-24 lead after one quarter. Instead of bouncing back, France continued to struggle in the second quarter, scoring only nine points to Germany's 24.

After a close call against Japan a few days ago, this loss is something that French fans have been fearing. Wembanyama, for his part, trusts the coaching and admits that they need to improve as well.

“We got to trust our coaching more, trust our teammates more, do things that aren’t on the stat sheet,” Wemby said , per Marc J. Spears.

Barring a gigantic upset, France should be matched up against the undefeated Canada team in the quarterfinals. The Canadians have sneakily been the second-best team in the tournament so far. Once again, it's an uphill battle for the host nation.

Wemby and France will need to fight hard to give the home crowd one more game to cheer for.

Related: Victor Wembanyama Goes Viral For Absurd 'Space Jam' Dunk Vs. Brazil