But to his team-mates on the national team and to fans of Les Bleus, the one they call "Flo" is an integral part of Claude Bergeaud's team.

In the past, Florient Pietrus has shown he could do all the little things that win games but fail to appear on a stats sheet - dive for loose balls, play tough defense and out-hustle just about everyone on the court, bringing about comparisons to Dennis Rodman.

But this year he has added a consistent outside shot to become even more a threat to France's opponents and quash the comparisons to The Worm for good.

According to his brother Mickael, Florent Pietrus was the revelation of the group stages in Sendai, so much so that it¡¯s quite likely Les Bleus might not have gotten this far in the tournament without his all-around play.

FIBA correspondent Simon Wilkinson caught up with him as France look ahead to Wednesday's quarter-final against their nemesis Greece.

FIBA: Let's talk about the upcoming quarter-final against Greece. How tough is it going to be?

Pietrus: It will be our most difficult game of this competition. The two teams match up very well and this will be a very defensive-minded game. It¡¯s going to come down to who can keep up the intensity the longest. That team will win.

FIBA: Everyone is talking about how this could be the time to get your revenge, but it seems to be a notion the French players refuse. Why?

Pietrus: We don¡¯t refuse it, but we have to put it at the back of our mind so that we don't take away from this game and what it means. This is not the same as last year in many ways.

FIBA: Considering France hadn't taken part in the FIBA World Championship, getting to the quarter-finals has to be a good result.

Pietrus: It is a good result but it shouldn't mean that we should be satisfied to just get this far and end our journey here. The deeper you go in a competition, the more you want to go even further.

FIBA: So what is the mindset going into this game? Do you think that you're going to win or do you just say to yourself 'We'll give our best efforts and see what happens?

Pietrus: We'll start off thinking about giving our best effort and if we end up winning the game then obviously that's a big bonus and a huge step forward for us.

FIBA: And should you end up on the losing side of this quarter-final, you obviously can't take the classification games lightly as they are important for future competitions.

Pietrus: No we can't relax and play them just for the fun of it. They do count for something. That's why they are played.

FIBA: Your style of play has improved this year. You used to be an athletic hustle player and now you've added a new dimension offensively with a consistent shot. Can you talk about the transition?

Pietrus: I'm definitely taking more outside shots than I did before. I've put a lot of work during the year to add that dimension to my game so that I can become a better player and help my teams more. It's already paying dividends but the work isn't done yet. There's still a long way to go.

FIBA: The purpose of that work is to help out your teams - both club and country - but is it also to attract the attention of NBA scouts?

Pietrus: I came here wanting to help France go as far as possible and I'm able to do that by playing well so that allows me to showcase myself for the scouts. So really I can combine the two things without taking away from the team.

FIBA: Do you feel that you lead by example on the court?

Pietrus: I don't really think about it that way. I just feel great out on the court and I just go out and play my game to help us perform. But I don't necessarily lead. I couldn't do anything without my team-mates. They make me want to do my best and that's what I give.