Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez

The Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez is a French professional basketball club that is based in Pau. They play their home games at the Palais des Sports de Pau.

History

The Élan Béarnais was founded in 1931 in the town of Orthez. Up until then, the basketball club was merely a section of the Orthez sports club, founded in 1908. It was not a "club" in the modern sense, but rather a sponsorship created by clerics to enable young people to play sports.

The club first reached the top level of French professional basketball in 1973. They were immediately relegated back to the second division the following season, but returned to the top flight in 1976. The club then made their European debut one year later, in 1977, by qualifying for the Korać Cup. They continued their ascent by winning the Korać Cup in 1984, defeating Red Star Belgrade in the final. This was the first of many pieces of silverware that would be added to the club's trophy cabinet over the next two decades.

More success followed as the Élan Béarnais were finally crowned champions of France, winning back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987. This earned them entry into the European Champions' Cup (present-day Euroleague). Despite their status as newcomers they were not intimidated, completing their maiden campaign with a miraculous 3rd-place finish and a perfect record at home. It was a magical run, the club defeating such European giants as Žalgiris Kaunas, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Real Madrid, and eventual 1987 champions Olimpia Milano at their home court, La Moutète. The Élan Béarnais would remain a fixture in European competition every season thereafter, until 2008, setting a European longevity record of 31 years (1977–2008).

Now that this humble club from a village of 12,000 people at the foot of the Pyrénées had blossomed into a power of European basketball, a move to a bigger city became a necessity. The club changed its name in 1989, becoming the Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, and moved to the city of Pau, after the inauguration of the Palais des Sports in 1991. This move was made possible by the visionary efforts of two men: Pierre Seillant, the beloved longtime president of the club, and André Labarrère, then-mayor of Pau. Thanks to them, the Palais (still today the largest basketball-centered arena in France) was built, and the Elan were able to remain in their home region of Béarn.

With the transition complete, the club carried on cementing their status as the dominant force of French basketball by winning seven more league championships. These are the most championships of any team in the history of the Pro A. The last one came in 2004, the second of back-to-back titles, and the culmination of a golden-age for the club. The most spectacular season of all, however, was most likely exhibited a year earlier, in 2003, when the breathtaking abilities of two burgeoning young talents named Boris Diaw and Mickaël Piétrus were harnessed to spearhead the Élan Béarnais to a sweep of all three French trophies (Le Championnat, Coupe de France and Semaine des As). Following the season, both players were drafted in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, due to exodus of talent, a lack of coaching stability, and financial problems, the success of the club steadily waned from 2004 on, until rock-bottom was reached and the unthinkable happened: in 2009, the Élan Béarnais were relegated to the Pro B, their first stint in the second division since 1976. To their credit, however, the club took this opportunity to re-structure and re-build, which resulted in the club winning the Pro B championship the very next season and earning immediate promotion back to their usual domain of Pro A basketball. In the 2010-11 season, their first back in the top flight, the club finished 9th, just missing the playoffs but a stabilizing achievement nonetheless.

In 2008, with Didier Gadou and Claude Bergeaud in charge, the club underwent a minor name-change, becoming the Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez. The city of Lacq's inclusion in the name and entrance onto the director's board strengthened the club's Béarn identity. In exchange, Lacq, located just north-west of Pau, now provides funding to the club.

Roster

Coaches

• Didier Dobbels - Head Coach

U20 Team

Honours

• French Championships: (9) 1986, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004
• French Cups: (6) 1991, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2007
• Korać Cup: (1) 1984
• Semaine des As: (1) 2003

Notable players

• Marcus Brown
• Howard Carter
• Emanual Davis
• Boris Diaw
• Artur Drozdov
• Roger Esteller
• Conrad McRae
• Ian Mahinmi
• Gheorghe Mureşan
• Johan Petro
• Mickaël Piétrus
• Florent Piétrus
• Antoine Rigaudeau
• DJ Fisher
• Josh Grant
• Moochie Norris
• Freddy Hufnagel
• Didier Gadou
• Thierry Gadou
• Tom Scheffler
• Marc Salyers
• Lawrence Funderburke
• Stéphane Risacher
• Laurent Foirest
• Moustapha Sonko
• Antonio Graves
• Orlando Phillips

All-Time Roster

Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez All-Time Roster

External links

• Official Site
• Non Official Fan Site
• Non Official Fan Site