Upon her arrival in New York, French national team player Pauline Astier has joined her compatriot Marine Johannès. During a day off, the two young athletes visited the iconic Times Square. Astier, formerly a point guard for Bourges and most recently playing in Prague, has also reunited with Kristen Mann, now a player development coach, with whom she shared two seasons with the Tango team.
“I know that when I have a question, I can ask anyone, but it’s easier to ask Mann because she knows me too, so it’s really simpler. Before I came, I told her, ‘Please, can you send me the guide, everything else?’ And she replied, ‘Don’t worry, everything will be fine.’ So yes, it’s nice to have her here,” said the rookie to the New York Post, confirming she had several WNBA teams to choose from, including the Liberty, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, and Toronto Tempo.
What’s remarkable is that Pauline Astier has already won over her coach and one of her illustrious teammates. Her coach, Chris DeMarco, describes her as a formidable pick-and-roll player with immense competitive spirit and potential. American international Sabrina Ionescu has praised her for the speed at which she has grasped the coach’s new systems.
“Today was her second day, and she probably stood out more than anyone,” said Sabrina Ionescu. “I would say her adaptability is remarkable. Her intelligence is clearly very high for her to have picked things up so quickly. Some of us have been doing this for a week and a half and still don’t know where to go, while she just arrived and in two days she’s already running the offense, perfectly understood the game, and knows how to go about it.”
“The national team (French) trusts her with the ball, and so do we,” assured Chris DeMarco. “We just need to see how it plays out. I have total confidence in her. I find she has excellent court vision, and on defense, she truly wants to be aggressive and disrupt things. Her shooting is good, so she’ll get her chance. Do I know if she’s ready to play a lot of minutes? I don’t know for now, but she has clearly played at the highest level.”
“I’m really excited,” insists Sabrina Ionescu. “She has unlimited potential, and I want to continue learning how to play with her… I can’t wait to see her development. I think everyone will love her style of play because it’s unique and fits perfectly with the system we’re trying to implement.”
Pauline Astier has signed a one-year contract with the Liberty at the rookie minimum salary of $270,000 and expresses her excitement.
“I’m so happy. This is my first time in New York.”