European Prospects

Today, I had a little chat with 1989 born Fernando Raposo from Pau-Orthez. The 2m04 tall forward already saw some minutes with the pro team in the beginning of the season but is out of the rotation for the moment because of the foreigner rule.

So Fernando, can you present yourself at first.

Hi, my name is Fernando Raposo. I was born in 1989 in Stuttgart(Germany) and my parents are from Portugal and Cameroon. I started basketball at the age of 12 in a club named ESV Rot-Weiss Stuttgart. I played there two seasons and at the age of 14 with the help of Narcisse Ewodo, I got recruited by the French team Pau-Orthez which I am playing for today.

There have always been discussions about your nationality and for which country you can play in the future. Has there been a decision already and if so, why did you chose what you chose?

I have a Portuguese passport but I was born in Germany, so I could get the German nationality if asked for it. But I can also get a french passport because I am living in my fifth year in France.
I didn’t decide yet for which country I am going to play but I think its going to be France because I am about to get my french passport and I would have fun to play with players like Nicolas Batum or Alexis Ajinca in the future because I think this generation has great potential. I am a little bit disappointed because the German federation did not ask me if I wanted to play for the national team so I guess they are not very interested…

(Photo: Deniz Calagan)

Where do you see your forces in terms of basketball? and your weaknesses?

My forces are definitely everything what defense concerns. Rebounding, playing some hard defense and blocking shots. I am also pretty good in running the fast-breaks and finishing hard to the basket.
My weaknesses are definitely my outside shot (more the 3pointer than the pull up jumper) and my ball handing… But I am giving my best to improve.

Playing for Pau-Orthez, a team where actual NBA players like Boris Diaw and Mickael Pietrus have been before, is this an honor for you? Are you feeling the presence of these guys in Pau? Are they considered as role models?

I feel very honored to play for a team like Pau-Orthez because I started in a small club where I did not even know that I had the possibilities to play pro one day. Pau-Orthez is a historical club in Europe and even more in France and so I am proud to be part of a big team like Elan Béarnais. Boris Diaw and Mickael Pietrus are definitely some of Pau-Orthez biggest role models after Didier Gadou and Paul Hendersen. I mean the first two guys are better known because they are NBA players and when a young kid thinks about Pau-Orthez, he also thinks about Diaw or Pietrus. It is related. We, the young players in Pau-Orthez feel the presence of those two players because all of the pictures and good memories they left here before leaving. Personally i feel more the presence of Boris Diaw because I am always a little bit compared to him which is an honor.

How do you see your future? Is the NBA Draft something you are thinking about already?

I am really thinking about the NBA more and more every day and my dream is definitely to play in the league. It is pretty sure that one of my goals is entering the NBA Draft one day but I don’t know yet what year. It depends how fast I am getting better.