France center Rudy Gobert (right) defends against Latvia's guard Kristaps Janicenoks during their quarter-final match at the EuroBasket 2015 in Lille on Tuesday. (AFP)

DPA/Lille, France

Defending champions France have no lack of star players, but center Rudy Gobert is providing head coach Vincent Collet with some tantalizing options at EuroBasket 2015 while helping the elder Frenchmen feel young.
Gobert played a huge role in getting France into the semi-finals by scoring 13 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots in Les Bleus’ 84-70 quarter-finals win over Latvia on Tuesday. But it was the NBA center’s versatility that made him such a difference maker against the Latvians.
With the Latvians causing the French defense problems, Collet decided to change his tactics which often left the 2.13 metre Gobert guarding Latvia’s smaller guards. Gobert’s excellent athleticism and endlessly long arms made the switch work.
“What (Gobert) did tonight is special for a big man. He’s 7-feet and he’s guarding the point guard. You can’t say as a coach to a center to do that,” Collet said. “With Boris, that would have been impossible,” the coach added with a wink towards his team leader Boris Diaw.
France’s 33-year-old captain Diaw was full of praise for the 23-year-old Gobert. “Gobert did a great job. He’s still a young guy. He listened a lot to the coach. He evolved a lot playing in the NBA,” Diaw said.
Gobert came into EuroBasket 2015 after completing his second season in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.
He increased his production across the board, averaging 8.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. At EuroBasket, the Saint-Quentin native is averaging 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
“Defensively he’s definitely a threat. Before he was young and naive, but he’s getting more mature,” Diaw said of Gobert, who is spending his second year with the French senior national team.
At the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Gobert played well as the back-up center with 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks a game.  
Probably his best performance came against the 2014 host team Spain in the quarter-finals, helping upset the Spanish with five points and 13 rebounds.  
They face Spain again in the EuroBasket semis in Lille on Thursday.
Gobert returned to the national team this year even bigger physically - a scary sight for opponents already intimidated with his arm length. There was also the confidence of a solid year in the NBA.
“He’s very useful on defense and offensively it’s easy to get him involved. Just throw it up there and he will get it,” Diaw said.
Gobert represents the future of French basketball, which is going through a transition.
Diaw, Tony Parker, Mickael Gelabale and Florent Pietrus are all between 32 and 34 years of age. Including Gobert, there are five players on the French squad 23 or younger.  
“I feel a lot older than last year already. But playing with these young guys keeps us young,” Diaw explained.
“They tell us fresh young jokes that sometimes we old guys don’t get.
But they explain them to us and it keeps us young.”  
But there is more that just youth coming from the new influx of France talent.
“They bring a great spirit and are very respectful,” added Diaw.  
As well as a new set of options for the coach to use in the game.