Whenever Romain Parmentelot needs some motivation, he only needs to go to his Instagram account. The U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne point guard has "Vi||ain" listed in his profile, and it reminds him of those who doubted him. Parmentelot has another chance to silence his critics at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals.
ASVEL's Parmentelot finally gets his chance to shine
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Parmentelot played a major role in getting ASVEL back to the ANGT Finals as he collected 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals as the French powerhouse took first place at the ANGT Belgrade – the first time the club won a qualifying tournament. Now, he and his teammates can go back to the Serbian capital for the finals, from May 18 to 21, knowing they've had success there earlier this year.
"It meant a lot to win in Belgrade because it was the first time that ASVEL won a title like this. It was very nice. Playing at the ANGT Finals at the Final Four is important to take the next step as a player," said Parmentelot, who tied for sixth in assists and eighth in steals at the ANGT Belgrade while averaging a 12.0 performance index rating.
Parmentelot is playing his third ANGT season after picking up 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 17 minutes over three games at the 2019-20 ANGT Valencia and then averaging 9.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.7 steals at the 2020-21 ANGT Finals.
"In my first year, Matthew Strazel was in front of me, and now I am better than the other two years because I have more confidence from my teammates and coach," said Parmentelot.
The 1.90-meter guard may have put up solid numbers in Belgrade but he still has not received a lot of attention. That is not necessarily because of his subpar play but more because of the elite potential of many of his teammates, including Kymany Houinsou, Killian Malwaya and Zaccharie Risacher.
"I can't think too much about that because they are my teammates, so I am happy for them if they get attention. If the attention is not on me right now, I will work harder so it will be on me later," Parmentelot said.
Parmentelot is used to people doubting him, which is the reason why he included "Vi||ain" in his Instagram profile.
"When I started to take basketball very seriously a lot of people gave up on me because they didn't believe in me. So I have to be the best villain to take my revenge," he said.
Parmentelot used that drive to keep working on his game and he eventually landed with ASVEL, which is a club that gives its youngsters a chance to play on the first team if they deserve it. And Parmentelot made his French League debut on November 21, 2021, in ASVEL's showdown with top-ranked team Boulogne Metropolitans 92.
"I was very excited when Coach [T.J. Parker] said I would be on the roster. It was the first time. I was used to training with them during the season, but when the coach said I would be on the roster I was very, very happy," said Parmentelot, who picked up 1 steal and missed his one three-point attempt in 3 minutes.
"It was very special when he called my name. The thing I will remember is the atmosphere, and I hope I will be able to feel that atmosphere again."
Parmentelot will be experiencing his first EuroLeague Final Four as the ANGT Finals last season took place separately from the Final Four due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, that will be special to experience, but he and his teammates will also have some revenge on their minds.
At the 2020-21 ANGT Finals, ASVEL lost a back-and-forth game with eventual champion U18 Real Madrid 82-80 in the group stage. Parmentelot poured in a team-high 19 points to go with 2 assists but it wasn't enough in the end. And ASVEL will be heading to Belgrade with extra motivation.
"We are hungry to win the title because we couldn't stop thinking about last year when we lost to Real Madrid. We were so close. That is why we are hungry to win," he said.