For a bit, he would have apologized. “I was in the right place at the right time”, blew Terry Tarpey, Saturday, September 10. On the floor from the Berlin Arena, in the final moments of a stifling extension between the French men’s basketball team and Turkey, the winger emerged, less than three seconds from the final buzzer, intercepting the ball and annihilating the last hopes Bosphorus players.
If his basket, registered after the siren, did not count, the number 22 of the Blues did not care. Winners (87-86), after having grazed the abyss, the French climbed into the quarter-finals of the Euro. They will face, Wednesday, September 14, surprising Italians for a place in the last four (5:15 p.m.). And Terry Tarpey should once again find himself in the starting five.
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In the right place at the right time. The formula applies perfectly to those who evolve in a club at Le Mans. Arrived on tiptoe in the French team in November 2021, thanks to international windows where neither NBA players (North American league) nor those of the Euroleague (semi-private league between the biggest clubs) appear. Europe), the player was far from assured of a jump seat for the Euro.
“At the start of the preparation, I didn’t really know him, recognizes pivot Rudy Gobert. But his name had appealed to me long before playing with him. » Terence M. Tarpey III evokes, it is true, more the New York skyscrapers than the Ariège Pyrenees, from where his paternal great-grandfather emigrated to become a chef in the Empire State Building.
If he tints the language of Molière with a beautiful American accent, the Franco-American winger has not gone through the “naturalization” box like many of the Euro players. Born in Poissy (Yvelines), where his father, Terry Tarpey II, also a basketball player, played, the 28-year-old spent his first three years in France. He only returned there in 2016, after a full course in the United States, first in ProB (second division), before joining Le Mans, where his father had also evolved.
A galaxy far, far away from NBA stars
“It’s kind of crazy to talk about Evan [Fournier] and Rudy [Gobert] like friends and teammates”, recognized the player after the victory against Lithuania, in the first round. His emoluments at Le Mans – 130,000 euros annually, according to Basketball Europe – make him evolve in a galaxy very far from the stars of the NBA and the nearly 33 million euros affected, for example, this season by Rudy Gobert, the new pivot of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But, on the floor, Terry Tarpey has earned his place. “For some, I come out of nowhere, admits the player. But I’ve worked my whole life for it. I think France are starting to appreciate what I can bring with or without the ball in hand. »
At the start of preparation, Vincent Collet had highlighted Manceau in the locker room. “He always goes all out, has no qualms, knows his role and plays it to perfection”, exposed the tricolor coach. In office since 2009, the Norman technician knows the importance of players in the shadows in the chemistry of a national team. “We need players like that to be a better team. Not everyone will be able to shine and play their most productive basketball. Looking for it would be a mistake. »
In a renewed group this year in the absence of the innkeepers Nicolas Batum and Nando de Colo, Vincent Collet quickly understood what the cocktail of abnegation, energy and defense of the one who was nicknamed “Spiderman” in high school could bring. , for his ability to spring on all the balloons. “His friendlies suggested to us that he could be a piece of the puzzle. He immediately found his role. The one who puts on the “heat blue”, who never balks at tasks in the shadows. “My father was not too much of a defender, so he tried to make me a good defender when I was little”relates Terry Tarpey.
“As if he filled in all the holes”
“Every time Terry is on the court, it’s like he’s filling in all the holespays tribute to him Rudy Gobert. It has become essential. He exudes positive energy for the team, puts himself completely at their service and does all the little things for others. We need these kind of players. It’s a bit like what Nicolas [Batum] did, in another register. » “If we want to win, everyone has to understand that he is the perfect example of how we should play”supports Evan Fournier, the French captain.
Less physically impressive than many of his teammates, never stingy with an infectious smile and as if gifted with the gift of ubiquity as he seems to be simultaneously at the four corners of the field: in many points, Terry Tarpey also evokes N’Golo Kanté. “He’s my favorite player” has appreciated the tricolor winger on Sunday on Twitterabout the indispensable midfielder of the French football world champions.
The best interceptor in the Euro (2.2 balls stolen per game) is no longer a secret, and several upscale clubs would have inquired with Le Mans about his situation. He insists on “Stay focused on the present moment”. Wednesday, against the Italians, Terry Tarpey will do everything to, once again, be in the right place at the right time.