Chima Moneke was waiting in Monaco!
He had arrived in France in the most complete anonymity, a rookie at 2,200 euros quickly cut by Rouen in 2018. He will return in the shoes of a star, reigning Champions League MVP, defector from the NBA where he briefly tasted his dream with the Sacramento Kings (two appearances against Memphis and San Antonio). After having very quickly offered once Chima Moneke was cut by the Californian franchise, AS Monaco won the timpani. The Roca Team has reached an agreement with the Nigerien interior covering until June 2024 and the signing is expected in the coming hours.
Acuerdo cerrado đź”’
Os puedo adelantar que CHIMA MONEKE ha cerrado su fichaje por el MĂ“NACO.
Firma un contrato por dos temporadas. Refuerzo de lujo para el proyecto y a gran oportunidad Euroliga para Ă©l. pic.twitter.com/ZTlIh2DKt1
— Gérard Solé (@gsole14) January 12, 2023
Still something to prove:
“Some keep saying I’m too small for the EuroLeague”
Its arrival represents a tremendous market opportunity, especially after the sidelining of Adrien Moerman, but will not fill all the gaps of AS Monaco, especially in terms of outside shooting (17% from three points in the G-League this season). But for a team still too prone to mood swings (not to write that they prefer these games), as this week proves, the addition of another hyperactive player, a kind of reproduction of John Brown III, won’t hurt. “He’s always on top”told us his ex-trainer Laurent Foiret. “He’s a born competitor, he doesn’t want to lose, even in training. » A real fighter plane on the ground, always with his head in the circle, fast and a good finisher, the former Manresa player has the ideal profile for Betclic ÉLITE games (13.7 points at 63%, 6.5 rebounds and 1 .5 assists with the OLB). “His second part of the season with us was just extraordinary”remembered Germain Castano. “He was playing 4, he was also playing 5, he is so athletic, he is able to create shots, he is a fabulous finisher. He is a hard worker and he has had the merit of being impressive on a daily basis. »
Three French seasons pendant, Chima Moneke (1.96 m, 27 years old) had evolved. His failure in Rouen, for which he still harbors a certain resentment, taught him the hard law of professionalism but his rookie exercise, mostly spent at Denain, then allowed him to erase some of his waste and improve his game without the ball. . In Quimper and OrlĂ©ans, he then gradually channeled himself, he who, impatient by nature, tended to get frustrated too quickly. “It is obvious that I transferred to France”he said this summer. “My panoply has grown. But the determining factor is that I have more confidence in myself. » Certainties further reinforced by his Spanish year, where he was archi-dominant in Liga Endesa (14.8 points at 53%, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 interceptions for 19.2 evaluation), he who does not was already not too subject to doubt: while he was nobody in Pro B, he repeated to whoever wanted to hear him that he was playing in the NBA one day. “He was a kid who had really huge ambitions but it didn’t feel like pretentiousness”emphasizes Remy Valin. “We felt that he was going to give himself the means, that he had real self-confidence, it didn’t sound the same in his mouth as in other players that we can meet. We could see that his confidence was going to give him the little extra compared to the others. » With the dose of pride and character highlighted by all those who have ever crossed his path… “He already had one thing: his determination and his desire to prove to the whole world that he has the level”, added Alexandre MĂ©nard, when discussing his contrasting weeks in Normandy. And that’s not going to change for the EuroLeague. When he had just fulfilled his dream of signing in the NBA, he himself told us about it last summer. “Even after my season in the Champions League, some kept saying that I kept saying that I was too small for the EuroLeague (he laughs). The opinions of some are really funny: how could I be too small for the EuroLeague when I was dominant in Liga ACB, second best rebounder?! Some people are a little ridiculous. It makes me laugh, it doesn’t affect me. » He surely laughs about it, it may not affect him, but he will still keep it in the back of his mind to shine with AS Monaco…
TO GET TO KNOW CHIMA MONEKE BETTER
In July 2022, after his signing in Sacramento, Chima Moneke had retraced his entire career with us. His four French coaches (Alexandre MĂ©nard, RĂ©my Valin, Laurent Foirest and Germain Castano) had also provided their insight into the player. Very instructive, both from a sporting and human point of view. An article can be found here:
https://www.bebasket.fr/de-la-pro-ba-la-nba-chima-moneke-retrace-son-incroyable-ascension/