France NT 2010

[TalkBasket]

[size="4"]Parker not short of desire to play in Turkey[/size]



SAN ANTONIO ([url="http://turkey2010.fiba.com/"]2010 FIBA World Championship for Men[/url]) - Tony Parker is going through one of his toughest NBA campaigns to date, but insists his desire to play for France still burns bright.



"I still want to play this summer because I still want to go to the Olympics in 2012," Parker told the San Antonio Express-News.



The French star guard has always worn the national colours with great pride and done just about everything possible to further the country's basketball cause year in and year out.



Last summer, following a long and gruelling season, he went through preparation games and the Additional Qualifying Round to help France clinch the last berth for EuroBasket 2009. Les Bleus then went on to finish fifth in Poland, a result that booked their place in Turkey this summer.



With a star-laden team, Vincent Collet's charges could be a serious medal contender and perhaps even dream of qualifying directly for London 2012, should they bring home the gold medal from Istanbul.



And while the San Antonio Spurs playmaker has had great success stateside by winning three NBA championships, he has not been quite as triumphant with France and it is something that still drives him to this day.



Back in 2000, on a team that also included the likes of Boris Diaw, Mickael Pietrus and Ronny Turiaf, Parker led France went to U18 European Championship glory.



Les Bleus are still looking to make their first appearance on the top step of the podium in one of the basketball's main senior international competitions.



French fans hoping to see Parker & Co try to accomplish that historical feat in Turkey will be disheartened by the rumours swirling that he might miss out in order to rest his banged-up body.



"I think what happened this year is going to affect my decision," the 27-year-old said, referring to how he has picked up just about every nagging injury imaginable - ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, strained hip muscle and even food poisoning - so far this season.



Having to play through those ailments has not worked out to perfection and as a result his play has suffered from it. Parker looks a step slower than his usual self and has been unable to build on the banner year he had in 2008-2009. His current averages of 16.6 points and 5.7 assists through 48 games are well below the career-highs of 22.0 and 6.9 he set last season.



And as he looks ahead to the autumn, when he will enter the final year of his contract, there is no doubt in his mind that he wants to regain the kind of form which made him a three-time All-Star as well as an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.



To that end, he is willing to consider doing everything in his power to be at full strength - even if that means reluctantly spending the summer on the beach to rest his aching body rather than suiting up for the French national team.



"I think it's finally catching up with me a little bit," Parker said of taking part in last summer's EuroBasket in Poland. "That tells me I'm going to have to make decisions about my priorities.



"At the end of the season, I'm definitely going to sit down and look at what happened this year and make sure it doesn't happen again."

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