In return to D.C., Meesseman hopes to inspire Belgian Cats’ next generation
When the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Washington D.C. tips off in 24 hours or so, it’s quite obvious that it’s one of the more momentous occasions in the storied basketball career of Emma Meesseman.
It will be the first time for the former Washington Mystic veteran herself and the leader of the Belgian Cats to finally have the two sides of her basketball life coincide in the one city she calls her adoptive home.
“It feels great. This place has felt like home for so many years. For me, it’s beautiful that I can bring two chapters of my career together in some way,” the 2019 WNBA champion and WNBA Finals M.V.P. shared during the pre-event press conference.
The Cats, coming off a breakthrough stint in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics two years after it likewise made a historic FIBA Women’s World Cup appearance for the first time during the 2018 edition in Spain, are eager to continue the success they’ve had in the last decade.
Now ranked no. 6 in the world, Belgium will face the United States, Russia, and Puerto Rico in Group A, needing to place at least third to qualify for a second straight World Cup.
“We want to continue what we had in the past. We want to be in the big tournaments. I think it’s really important to have that continuity. At the same time, you cannot, like what we said, it’s a new project and it’s not the same team yet like we had,” Meesseman shared. “We are open for the challenge and I hope that we will be ready. As I’ve seen in the last few practices, it’s a good sign.”
It will be a much more challenging task, Meesseman admits, given that the squad is composed of relatively newer faces and a new head coach in French tactician Valery Demory, who took over the reigns from Philip Mestdagh.
“It’s going to be a challenging tournament because of the circumstances, but for us, it’s also a new start a little bit because we have a lot of young players, it’s going to be really exciting to see what this tournament is going to be like,” the 28-year-old power forward added.
“It’s something the young players will have to learn, how to be in the national team, how to be professional… we already came from a long way but it’s not going to be the same level yet, I think. We really have good chances to make the World Championship, and then hopefully we will have a longer time to prepare, because only had probably four practices.”
Helping the cause of Meesseman and the Cats are the likes of Julie Allemand, Hanne Mestagh, and the returning Hind Ben Abdelkader.
With the team having an average age of 24 years old, it is also imperative for Meesseman to carry the torch and take the lead for the Cats, which she intends to do while the entire roster is in D.C.
Being one of only five Belgian players who’ve ever made the WNBA — along with Kim Mestdagh, Allemand, Abdelkader, and Ann Wauters — it’s also important for Meesseman to inspire the next generation of Cats to not only play for the national team but to raise the bar when they can, as she has proven many times.
More than competing in the tournament herself, it’s about showing her teammates how far she’s gone in a career that she’s still constantly adding pages to — and where better place to do that than in her second home.
“The Belgian Cats is always separated from the WNBA, but now they get to see where I play, the gym where I got better, and hopefully this can inspire the young kids a little bit, the younger players, to maybe want the same or like to see where basketball can bring you because I’m pretty sure everybody fell in love with Washington D.C.”
