CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Louis Lesmond, an incoming Harvard men's basketball first-year, earned a silver medal with France this past Sunday, July 11, while competing at the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia. France fell to the United States, 83-81, in the championship game.
 
Hailing from Paris, Lesmond enjoyed his best performance of the tournament against Team USA, compiling 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes. In seven World Cup outings, the guard reached double figures in scoring three times, ultimately finishing with averages of 7.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.0 minutes.
 
Lesmond helped the French capture the top seed in Group C action, posting an identical 2-1 record along with Spain and Argentina. France moved on to the bracket round where it defeated Mali (round of 16), Lithuania (quarterfinals) and Serbia (semifinals), setting up the showdown with the Americans with gold on the line.
 
A 6-6, 190-pound guard, Lesmond recently completed his high school career at Notre Dame College Prep in Illinois where he served as team captain in 2020-21. During his final season, he helped his squad win a second straight conference title, while earning conference MVP accolades. Lesmond is part of an incoming first-year group that is considered the No. 51 class nationally, according to 247Sports, and rates as the 55^th-best class by Rivals.com. Both rankings are tops in the Ivy League.
 
Lesmond continued a long tradition of Harvard players who have played at the international level as he joined the likes of Justin Bassey (Thailand), Danilo Djuricic (Canada), Chris Egi (Canada), Josh Hemmings (Canada), Corey Johnson (Canada), Noah Kirkwood (Canada), Steve Moundou-Missi (Camaroon), Agunwa Okolie (Canada), Weisner Perez (Dominican Republic), Laurent Rivard (Canada), Luka Sakota (Canada) and Patrick Steeves (Canada).