Gibby goes global: Talbot excels in Finland

HPD: Sunday murder was over a drug debt; 2 wanted in incident
January 28, 2019
Local 4A district taking fold
January 30, 2019
HPD: Sunday murder was over a drug debt; 2 wanted in incident
January 28, 2019
Local 4A district taking fold
January 30, 2019

The weather in Finland in January is frozen — often so cold that low temperatures and wind chill indexes are below zero with snow falling by the foot.


But the bitter, brisk winter cold hasn’t stopped one of our area’s best basketball players from heating up and establishing himself as a formidable professional post player.

Ellender graduate and Houma native Gilbert Talbot is dominating for Fokopo — a Division I professional team in Finland, his first shot at professional ball after a storied collegiate career at both Louisiana Tech and LSU-Alexandria.

Through this point in the season, Talbot is averaging 19.7 points and 15.6 rebounds per game — statistics that rank near the top of the professional league. Talbot also has 13 double-doubles in 14 games and has been named Player of the Game 9 times this season.


Talbot spoke to The Times this weekend from across the Atlantic — his first interview with local media since the start of his inaugural professional season. He said the success he’s experiencing is a blessing, adding that he had “no expectations” going into the year, knowing the competition would be fierce and the level of play would be as high as he’s ever seen.

“It’s going well, man,” Talbot said. “I’m enjoying the opportunity to get to wake up every day and play basketball and travel to different parts of Finland and experience new things. Coming in, I didn’t really have much of an expectation, to be honest. I knew that I could play out here and I knew what kind of player I am, so I really just needed an opportunity to show teams that.”

And that he has.


Talbot has been a monster for Fokopo, showing zero rust from the serious injury that sidelined him for several months and which delayed the start of his pro career until now.

Coming out of LSU-Alexandria, Talbot had offers to go overseas, but couldn’t because he underwent surgery for a torn labrum — a lingering problem that he’d played through for many years but that needed to be fixed.

Talbot said being taken out of “the routine” of being a basketball player was the hardest part of the injury, adding that it was difficult to not know when the next game would be.


“I was really lost without the game for that year of recovery,” Talbot said. “Every day, I make sure to appreciate where I’m at and what I’m doing.”

After several months of rest, then rehab, Talbot got back to the court at the end of last summer and started looking for opportunities.

That’s when the opportunity to play in Finland got set up — an opportunity that Talbot has grabbed by the horns.


Since joining the team, Talbot has been like a machine in the post for Fokopo — one of the most dominant figures in the entire league.

In one game, Talbot scored 28 points with 21 rebounds, making 12-of-18 field goals throughout the game. In another, he secured 28 points and 18 rebounds in 35 minutes for his team.

Perhaps his best all-around performance, was a 30-point, 21-rebound and 7-assist showing against Kouvot.


In addition to his work for Fokopo in 5-on-5 action, Talbot and teammates also won the Finland 3×3 Basketball Championship, which allowed he and his team a chance to compete in the World Cup Berlin Germany event.

Talbot said the entire experience of being in Finland — the play, the weather, the culture — have all been amazing to live through for a Houma-born Cajun man.

He said he also wanted to thank family, friends and medial professionals for their help in supporting him mentally and physically when he was away with the injury – efforts he said he will never forget throughout his career.


“Being overseas has been a crazy ride,” he said. “Waking up to actual snow was really wild and amazing at the same time. I’m just really fortunate that I was able to make it back from being injured and get back to doing something I love, but honestly, none of that would have been possible if not for the support and sacrifices made by my team back home.”

But now, Talbot wants more.

After the season, he said he plans to sign with an agency in hopes of securing bigger, more prestigious offers.


While waiting for that to happen, Talbot said he wants to finish his season strong, then get back in the gym to continue to master his game — all in the continual effort to be the best player he can be, a journey that started when he was an underclassman in high school at Ellender.

“I’m just working on improving upon my stats as well as becoming a better teammate and leader,” Talbot said. “I’ve learned so much this year about being a pro, so I’m just trying to take it day-by-day and get better in every aspect.”

Gibby Talbot


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