Mathieu Boyer, the Bagnolais giant in Betclic Elite, will play at Sluc de Nancy

Despite his great size, Mathieu Boyer was not selected by any training center in his youth. D.R. SLUC Nancy

Il a joué 10 ans au club de basket de Bagnols-sur-Cèze avant de découvrir le haut niveau. D.R. SLUC Nancy

He will play for Sluc Nancy this season in Betclic Elite (ex-Pro A), the best division of French basketball, without having gone through a training center. Mathieu Boyer's career is atypical.

Mathieu Boyer started playing basketball in Bagnols at the age of three. He only played for fun for many years. Having gone under the radar despite his large size, the player who is now 2.09 meters tall has a completely normal school life at the Collège du Bosquet, then at the Lycée Albert-Einstein in Bagnols-sur-Cèze.

It was only after the baccalaureate that everything took shape. Two years in Saint-Vallier in the Drôme, first in National 3 (5th division): “I was doing my BTS in Bagnols, but I was going back and forth to train (300 km). In the middle of the year, I told my teacher that I was going to try to do something in basketball. I never went back.”

He exploded during the following two seasons with Avignon, in the same championship. In Vaucluse, he is the top scorer in NM3, and trains with the club's professional team, which plays two divisions higher, coached at the time by a certain Sylvain Lautié, now coach of Sluc (Stade Lorrain University Club) Nancy.

The transition to the professional world

Mathieu Boyer settles down in Feurs in National 2. Basketball becomes his profession. He will end up champion of France in the division. He then leaves for Bordeaux, then Boulogne-sur-Mer one level above: “That's where I felt the biggest difference in level, it's the transition between NM2 and NM1” he specifies. However, he dominates the third division of French basketball as he did in Avignon.

Logically, he sees higher. After three seasons in Pro B, the antechamber of the French elite, where he finished as the best pivot in the championship last season with Antibes, he settled in Nancy, without pressure:“I'm going to stay myself. I don't set myself any goals, but I don't set any limits either. I train and play hard, the rest I can't control." The Holy Grail for him would be to reach the Euroleague, the elite of European basketball.

A rigorous worker

The strength of Mathieu's game is his touch on the ball, a rare quality for a big guy: "I am skillful, and I have a game intelligence that allows me to make the difference" he indicates. Physically, it's the hardest part: “I've made huge progress since the beginning of my career. I've strengthened my legs a lot to move better, and it's paying off.” Muscularly, nothing is left to chance either. Mathieu weighs 109 kg, the ideal weight for his height.

La Betclic Élite

At 28 years old, and after a unique journey, he discovers the elite of French basketball with a historic club in the championship. The team is very competitive on paper. Mathieu will start the season as a backup to Shevon Thompson, one of the best pivots in the championship: “He's a very good player. We're going to pull each other up. Our profiles can even be associated together on the court.”

Progress, again and again. Sluc Nancy is renowned for the development of its players. A godsend for the Bagnolais who believes that he will reach the peak of his career at 31 years old.

After his career, he wants to fully invest in the development of basketball in Occitanie: “We have many talented players, but we lack structures.” Indeed, Occitanie does not have any professional clubs in the first or second French basketball division.

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