Cholet

Player to watch : Aaron Towo-Nansi

AARON TOWO-NANSI. Make a note of his name, because this 17-year-old point guard is set to become a leading figure in French basketball. By far the youngest player in the Betclic ÉLITE this season, Aaron Towo-Nansi is Cholet’s star attraction.

Facing off against 18-year-old stars from across Europe, he crushed the competition at the famous Adidas Next Generation Tournament at just… 14 years old! As Fabrice Lefrançois’s 11th man, Aaron Towo-Nansi is sure to produce plenty of highlights in his debut season in the top flight.

A point guard who is already very mature for his age, the Breton is not defined solely by his ease from beyond the arc. Yes, he is a scorer, but above all he remains a team player capable of dishing out assists at any moment. And in defence, his ability to intercept – the result of superb game reading – makes him a formidable presence off the ball.

Strangely enough, a host of NBA scouts are expected to fill the stands at La Meilleraie this year.

Playing style

Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork… and more teamwork! Last season’s pleasant surprise returns with the same approach that took them to the play-offs. At the helm of this team, the 2024–2025 Betclic ÉLITE Coach of the Year is banking on his innovative style. Intensity and quick rotations are the cornerstones of Fabrice Lefrançois’s system.

There is a touch of Tuomas Iisalo about this Cholet side, with a greater sharing of responsibilities within a collective where the team comes before the individual. To this already well-oiled machine, the club added rebounding impact and improved three-point shooting over the summer. The team retains the defensive and athletic identity characteristic of Fabrice Lefrançois’s basketball.

Club history

Basketball in Cholet has been around since 1926, when the Club Omnisports Choletais de la Jeune France was founded. However, Cholet Basket as we know it today was officially established in 1975 under the leadership of its new president, Michel Léger. The aim behind this reorganisation? To do everything possible to one day reach the top national division. The foundations were laid; now it was up to CB to write its own history.

The club soon established itself as one of France’s leading teams. Despite being relegated to the Excellence Départementale division, Cholet climbed the ranks step by step. So much so that in just eight years, Yves Oger’s men were already competing in Nationale 2. With momentum building, the CB progressed through the division for three seasons before achieving their crowning glory. In a Du Bellay arena fully behind the Cholet cause, they clinched promotion in Nice in 1986, at the end of the Pro B championship final.

In their debut season in the top flight of French basketball, Cholet faced a major overhaul. As part of this drive towards professionalisation, the governing bodies overhauled the league format. As a result, more clubs were relegated during the 1986–1987 season. Considered underdogs on paper, CB got off to a poor start. On the brink of disaster, the Cholet side managed to sign forward Graylin Warner midway through the season. Spurred on by the ‘Greyhound of the Mauges’, as he was nicknamed, the Marne-based team finished in style. The dream had become reality: Cholet Basket was in the top flight of French basketball.

From 1987 to 1992, CB cemented its place among the top teams. That end-of-season run was no fluke, but rather Cholet’s first entry in the hall of fame of French basketball. In just its second season in the top flight, Cholet reached the league final as well as the AS Tournament final, only to fall short on both occasions against CSP Limoges. This was followed by a European Cup semi-final marked by legendary victories, such as against Real Madrid. Two further National 1A semi-finals, accompanied by a record 22-match home unbeaten run, were added during the 1991–1992 season.

Although Cholet is one of the select few French clubs to regularly compete in the Korać Cup (C3), it is currently experiencing a dip in form. While the club’s occasional flashes of brilliance certainly bring the town to life, it appears to be at the end of a cycle. This impression was confirmed in 1995 with the departure of its legendary president, Michel Léger. The change paid off, as after a season without the play-offs, CB lifted its first trophy in 1998 with the Coupe de France, before achieving a back-to-back victory the following season.

The Cholet side shone at the turn of the millennium but then fell into decline in the early 2000s. This stint in the EuroLeague (C1) did more harm than good, and the financial problems of yesteryear began to resurface. In the midst of a transition phase, Cholet then turned to its youth academy, which would become the club’s true hallmark. Thanks to its rising stars such as Rodrigue Beaubois and Nando de Colo, CB began to climb back up the ranks. Victory in the 2008 AS Weekly Awards, the 2009 EuroChallenge (C3) final and French champions in 2010! Erman Kunter’s men followed this up with a first-place finish in the regular season, though they fell just short of the EuroLeague (C1) Top 16.

As the 2012–13 season got underway, a new chapter began in the west. Erman Kunter stepped down, taking Cholet’s ambitions with him. For the first time in 30 years in the top flight, CB found themselves fighting for survival. Although Philippe Hervé managed to save the club’s future, Cholet narrowly avoided relegation with just two games remaining in the 2018–2019 season. As the new decade began, Cholet finally reclaimed its place among the top teams, as demonstrated by the 2023 FIBA Europe Cup (C4) final, which they lost to KK Wloclawek (161-155). The semi-finals, both at national and continental level, are gradually returning to Maine-et-Loire, accompanied by the ambition so characteristic of this historic club.

Spotlight : Training Center

8 Pro A Espoirs French Championships, 7 Trophées du Futur, 11 U18 Elite Men’s National Championships, and 7 U18 French Cups. All of this, topped off with back-to-back titles here and there, as well as double titles.

Considered one of, if not the very best talent factory in the country, Cholet has produced many of the faces of French basketball. Countless international players and NBA veterans have been trained at the Gautier Academy. A true powerhouse of French basketball, whose names are known to all basketball fans:

– Nando De Colo: 206 caps with the French national team, including 6 medals – one of which was a European Championship title in 2013 – 2016 EuroLeague MVP, and the competition’s second-highest all-time scorer.

– Rudy Gobert: 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 3-time NBA All-Star, and 6 medals with the French national team, including 2 silver medals at the Olympics.

– Killian Hayes: 236 NBA games with one season averaging over 10 points.

– Kevin Seraphin: 437 NBA games and 21 appearances for the French national team.

– Rodrigue Beaubois: 2011 NBA champion with Dallas and two-time Turkish champion.

Not to mention Mickael Gelabale, Antoine Rigaudeau, Charles Kahudi, Stephen Brun, Bruno Coqueran, Jim Alba…

The Number : 20

That’s the number of defensive rebounds John Devereaux grabbed on December 8, 1990, against Pau-Lacq-Orthez—a record in the history of the Betclic ÉLITE.