First 2.5 minutes (before it started feeling like work):
Today, I’m at the International Winter Hope Tournament in Lillon Marville.
So, I’m not sure whether to say Lillon is a basketball player in Orléans, a former basketball player in Orléans, or an Orléans basketball player…
An Orléans basketball player
hello Lillon.
Hello.
How are you?
I’m good, and you?
I’m doing very well, thanks. Thanks for accepting my invitation.
So Lillon, you’re 20 years old, you play point guard, and you’re 1.85 meters ( 6'1" ) tall. You spent several seasons in Orléans, from the youth academy all the way up to the pro team. What do those years mean to you?
They mean a lot to me, because that’s really where I grew as a basketball player. I went through a lot there—my youth years, and I also got to experience the pro world. Those are really the years that made me believe I could truly become a pro. And on top of that, Orléans is my city, so… you’ll understand in a moment why I hesitated to introduce you as an Orléans player or not.
What was the most memorable moment of your time at OLB?
The most memorable moment—I’d say it actually happened a bit earlier—it was when I found out I had been accepted into the training center. It was during COVID, back in 2020, when I was in ninth grade. I didn’t know if I was going to get into the academy, and one of the coaches, Pierre Tiers, believed in me and called me during the lockdown. We were all stuck at home, and they were the only club that reached out to me. I was really happy, and it was one of my dreams to join a training center. So I’d say that moment left the biggest impression on me because uh, during that second lockdown, they were the only club that reached out to me, so I was really happy. It had been one of my dreams to join a training academy, so I’d say that moment left the biggest impression on me because it was the beginning.
What was your path right before joining the training center? What did you do?
So, I started in Saint-Germain-la-Ruelle, the town where I live. I played there for two years, then I spent four or five years in Ormes.
After that, I played U15—U15 France—in Fleury, in Fleury-les-Aubrais, during my final U15 season. Then I joined the Orléans training center.
Which coach or teammate had the biggest impact on your development?
For me, I’d say him—because he really believed in me from the very beginning. He helped me a lot, supported me, always trained me, and worked with me a lot on the mental side too. That’s not something everyone learns when they’re young. So yeah, it’s him. He’s the one I still talk to the most—we stay in touch often. He’s the one who had the biggest impact on me. Honestly, he’s like family.