After weeks of speculation, FIBA has chosen the four final countries, Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, and Russia, that will represent in the 2010 World Championships of Basketball.

(germany-lebanon-lithuania-and-russia-awarded-12172/#post”>Discuss FIBA’s four wild card selections in our forum)

The maximum three -from-one-region wild cards went to Europe, leaving Great Britain as the only European finalist without a ticket. With their resurgence onto the basketball scene as the hosts of the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London, Great Britain was likely fifth place in the voting

The other three finalists that were in the running were two nations from Africa, Cameroon and Nigeria, and one from Asia – Korea.

The wild card process started with 14 nations, which was whittled down to eight before the FIBA board chose the four federations last night. Congratulations to Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, and Russia.

We are onlyy one day away from FIBA announcing the final four countries that will fill the tournament field for the 2010 World Championships.

(Predict the four teams to WC2010)

The Wild Card process started with 14 teams hoping for one of the four remaining spots; now it’s been whittled down to just eight basketball federations and  their current FIBA world rankings: Cameroon (#43), Germany (7), Great Britain (73), Korea (27), Lebanon (24), Lithuania (6), Nigeria (22), and Russia (17).

From FIBA’s world rankings, the four wild cards should go to Lithuania (6), Germany (7), Russia (17) and Nigeria (22), but who knows what FIBA is thinking, but they consider three criteria when selecting wild cards; sporting, economics, and governing aspects for each country.

Wild-card hopefuls must also pay a controversial 500,000 € fee, prior to FIBA’s decision, with the fees going into the marketing and promotion of basketball through FIBA’s International Basketball Foundation.

A maximum of three teams from one region will be allowed, meaning that Europe can only have 3/4 teams that can be awarded the Wild Card, and it’s not unlikely that Europe will get three teams.

Stay tuned, there will be some very happy teams and some very unhappy teams come Saturday night.

The FIBA Wild Cards will determine four teams’ fates for the 2010 World Championships of basketball.

With a few days remaining before FIBA announces their selections, which countries do you think FIBA will select for the event in Turkey in 2010? Below are Interbasket’s top 11 contenders:

• Cameroon
• Dominican Republic
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Korea
• Lebanon
• Lithuania
• Nigeria
• Poland
• Russia
• Taiwan

Seems that Interbasket members mostly agree that Russia and Germany will be locks to receive a ticket to the huge basketball event.

Go to our forum and pick the four countries that you think FIBA will choose based on their criteria of sporting, economics, and governing factors with a maximum of three wild cards from any one zone (that means you, Europe!).

It’s already been hinted that the sporting factor will weigh more heavily, benefiting teams from Europe and the Americas.

After the Wild Cards have been determined, the draw for the World Championships will be held at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul on Tuesday, 15th December 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

Tijani Umar, the President of the NBBF (Nigeria Basketball Federation) recently returned from Zurich, Switzerland after a meeting with FIBA World officials to chat about the FIBA wild cards for the 2010 World Championships.

However, Umar’s meeting with FIBA officials did not make him very positive on Nigeria’s chances.

While speaking with Ungar, FIBA hinted that they would be selecting the wild cards based on a country’s potential to make some impact on the world stage.

This “impact” factor is listed in FIBA’s wild card criteria, but for FIBA officials to emphasize that, fuels further speculation that the “quality and sporting results of the national teams of the country” is more heavily weighed than any other aspect.

After Nigeria finished fifth in the 2009 Afrobasket tournament, it would be difficult to justify their selection.

FIBA World Championships Wild Cards
With twenty teams having already clinched a spot to Turkey, there are still four slots remaining. These four spots are the wild cards and will be determined by FIBA.

(Chat more about the FIBA wild cards)

In order to qualify for a wild card, a team must have participated in their respective qualifying competition. From there, FIBA will take into consideration the sporting, economic, and governance aspects of that country.

Nigeria is on the short list of roughly ten teams vying for one of the four final spots.

Some of the top contenders for the spot include Cameroon, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Korea, Lebanon, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Russia.

There are going to be six very disappointed teams come December when FIBA announces which four countries will receive the wild cards at the FIBA Central Board meeting in Geneva.

Milwaukee Buck’s forward Luc Mbah a Moute is in South Africa this week for Basketball without Borders.

The 6-8 native of Cameroon was given a standing ovation when he was introduced.

Mbah a Moute is tied to the event both physically and emotionally. Not only is in his home continent of Africa, but he remembers attending the inaugural Basketball without Borders event in Johannesburg six years ago when he was just 16-years old.

According to JS Online,  Mbah a Moute delivered a heartfelt message to the campers at the Basketball Without Borders camp.  Mbah a Moute told some of Africa’s top basketball players that they could reach their goals, even possibly play in the NBA.

This year’s BwB event was held in the same location as the original camp in 2003, when it was called Africa 100.

“Three weeks after this camp I left for the U.S. and started my dream.” said Mbah a Moute. “That’s why I’m back here today to tell you this is a great experience, take advantage of it.”

“It was huge for me, to tell (the campers) what the camp did for me,” Mbah a Moute said. “It’s getting better after six years experience. You expect things to get better every year. The kids want to know anything and everything about the NBA.”

Other NBA players that attended the event was Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Toronto’s Chris Bosh, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Charlotte’s Vladimir Radmanovic, DJ Mbenga, as well as Dikembe Mutombo, Nykesha Sales and Teresa Edwards.

For more information: Basketball without Borders (NBA.com)

Tripoli, Libya – Angola took home the 2009  Africa Nations Championship by defeating the Ivory Coast 82-72 to capture their sixth straight Afrobasket gold medal, and their tenth in the last eleven tournaments.

(Discuss the 2009 Afrobasket)

Though that is certainly an impressive track record, Angola had their hands full with  small western coast country.  Côte d’Ivoire led the defending champions by four points after the first quarter, and carried a slim 35-34 lead into halftime.

The Angolans asserted themselves in the third quarter, extending a nine-point lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but couldn’t shake the Ivory Coast. The Elephants used a 12-4 run to cut the lead back down to one before Carlos Morais extended the lead back up to four when he hit a three-pointer to end the third quarter.

Despite the best attempts by the Ivory Coast, the experienced Angolans would keep their opponents at bay, never relinquishing their lead in the fourth to capture another Afrobasket gold medal.

Joaquim Gomes, who put up 16 points and 16 rebounds in the game, was named MVP of the 2009 tournament.

Carlos Morais paced Angola with 21 points and Olimpio Cipriano added 16 points. Pape Amagou led Cote d’Ivoire with 18 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals.

The 28-year old Gomes was also the MVP of the 2007 edition.

In the third place game, Tunisia defeated the defending runner-ups Cameroon 83-68 earning their first ever bid to the FIBA World Championships of Basketball. Amine Rzig led the way for Tunisia with 20 points, and Cyrille Makanda scored 18 points for Cameroon.

Cameroon‘s Cyrille Etogo” src=”http://www.interbasket.net/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nigeria-cameroon.jpg” alt=”Nigeria’s Chamberlain Oguchi (#6) of drives on Cameroon’s Cyrille Etogo” width=”240″ height=”311″ />

It’s no surprise that Angola is in the finals of Afrobasket, the African nation has been dominating the African Championships the last decade, winning nine of the last ten tournaments.

The shocking news is that Nigeria and Senegal won’t be in the top three, and that the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) will take on the Angolans in the finals; heading to the World Championships of Basketball for the first time since 1986.

Tournament darlings Tunisia could also punch their ticket to the WBC, which would be their first ever, if they are able to defeat Cameroon in tomorrow’s third-place game.

It’ll be tough for Tunisia, who have won their three last games by a total of just four points, which included a narrow 68-66 win over Cameroon in the round of eight.  No doubt, Cameroon will come out looking to avenge their loss and salvage a disappointing showing in the 2009 Afrobasket.

Quick Starts, Slow Finish
Nigeria and Senegal came out of the gate strong, both accumulated 3-0 records in the preliminary rounds, but would falter when it mattered most.

Senegal’s problem started when they lost Babacar Cissé, their key playmaker, for a couple games.  And even when Cissé returned, they couldn’t recover their momentum; losing four of their next five games.

Nigeria would actually win their first five games, but would misstep twice in matchups with Angola and Cameroon.  Even though Nigeria was unbeaten through their first five games, their two timely losses has them fighting for fifth place. Nigeria (6-2) will play the Central African Republic, who finished with an even 4-4 record.

In the last ten Afrobaskets, Angola, Senegal, Egypt, and Nigeria have dominated the medal cermonies.

Angola has medaled all ten tournaments with nine golds and one bronze. Senegal and Egypt has medaled six times; Senegal has one gold (1997), three silvers, and two bronze medals, while Egypt collect two silvers and four bronzes n that same span.

Nigeria has placed in either second or third place five times in the last ten Afrobaskets – gathering three silvers and two bronzes.  This will be only the second time in twenty years that either Egypt, Nigeria or Senegal do not medal.

After some shocking results on day five of the tournament, only two teams, defending champions Angola and Nigeria, remain as the only undefeated nations in the 2009 Afrobasket tournament

(click here for Afrobasket discussion)

Angola and Nigeria will meet today in the fifth match of the day (schedule).

Senegal loses PG, upset by Morocco
Senegal has been upset twice in it’s last two games.

After coming out of the prelimiary round unbeaten, the west African nation would drop their next two games in surprising losses to Rwanda and Morocco.

Their losses coincided with an injury to their point guard Babacar Cissé.  Cissé, who leads the field in assists at 6.2, went down early in Senegal’s game against Rwanda and wasn’t available against Morocco.

With Senegal’s 75-73 loss to Morocco, there is no chance that the Senegalese team will advance to the next round.  The game was tightly-contested until the Moroccan team outscored their Senegalese opponents 20-8 in the third quarter to open up a ten point lead going into the final stanza.

Mohamad Hacad led Morocco with a double double (18 points and 13 rebounds). Hamed was buoyed by Zakaria El-Masbahi (17 points), Yunss Akinocho (12) and Younes Idrissi (10 points and 7 rebounds).

Senegal wasted Mouhammad Faye’s 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Boniface N’Dong added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the losers.

Tunisia continues Success, upsets Cameroon
The surprise team of the tournament has to be the small, northern nation of Tunisia who is 4-1 after their first five games.

Tunisia lost their first game to last year’s darling, Cape Verde, but would go on to win their next four matches, to go to the top of their group.

Tunisia used Amine Rzig’s team-high 17 points and 6 rebounds to help upset Cameroon 68-66.   This has been a difficult tournament for team Cameroon, who placed second in the 2007 Afrobasket and whose two losses were both two-point margins.

Gaston Essengué led Cameroon with 14 points.  Cameroon outshot their opponents from the field, 3pt, and free-throws, but turned the ball over eight more times (23-15).

To the northwest of Libya, the Tunisians have won their last two games by a total of just three points.  They will attempt to continue their dark horse ways and try upset Senegal in their next game.

Libya defeats Egypt at the buzzer
Egypt mounted a furious comeback on Libya and tied the game at 73 with just three seconds left before Raid Fareed launched a jumper that found the bottom of the net.

The shot gave hosts Libya a 75-73 upset of Egypt,

Both teams were in a must-win situation in order to keep their hopes alive to advance into the next round.  Egypt and Libya came into the game having lost three of their four games.

Libyan Alfateh Belgasim led the floor with 23 poinst and 6 rebounds while the quartet of Mohamed Mersal, Hisham Farag added 15 points and match hero Raid Fareed contributed 10 points.

Libya is hosting their first Afrobasket and is participating in the tournament for the first time in 30 years.  Libya played in the 1965, 1970, and 1978 Afrobasket championships.

The prelimiary stage of the 2009 African Championships have finished (discuss).  Three nations Angola, Nigeria, and Senegal have moved onto the next round undefeated with three wins each.   Each team will play today in the quarterfinals.

[Show as slideshow]

Nigeria was led by 24-year old Michael Efevberha’s 23 points, good for second in the field.  Efevberha also had 3.3 assists, and 3.0 steals a game.

The 2005 Afrobasket MVP Boniface N’dong led Senegal in scoring and rebounding in their first three games.  N’dong, a former NBA player who played 23 games for the Los Angeles Clippers back in 2005-06, averaged 20.3 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Senegalese.  The 7-0 center from Dakar also averaged 1.3 blocks.

DeSagana Diop helped Senegal dominate the inside with 12.3 rebounds a game.  Diop pulled down 15 rebounds, and scored 8 points, in Senegal’s 67-65 win over Cameroon.

Jeff Xavier, a graduate of Providence University in the USA, led the Afrobasket field in scoring.  Xavier put up 27.3 points a game for Cape Verde, who were the surprise Bronze medalists in the 2007 tournament.  Unfortunately, CPV lost two games in the prelimiaries and will play in the relegation round.

Xavier hoisted 58 three pointers in Cape Verde’s first four games; an average of 14 three-point attempts per game, including 22 shots from behind the arc in a win over the Congo.

Angola, the defending champions and favorites to win the tournament, didn’t have one  player in the top ten of scoring.  In Angola’s first three games, Joaquim “Kikas” Gomes led Angola with 15 points, Eduardo Mingas 12.3 points, and Carlos Almeida 11 points per game.

The tournament also features well-known players Pape Sow (Senegal), Ebi Ere (Nigeria), Romain Sato (CAF), Harding Nana and Alfred Aboya (Cameroon).

Two regional basketball championships are going into their third, and final day, of preliminary games today.

The 2009 Africa Nations and the Asia Championships are finishing up their round robin play.After day 2, Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, and Cameroon have advanced into the quarterfinals of the 2009 Africa Nations Championships of Basketball

The top three teams in each of the four groups will move onto the quarterfinals to be played on Saturday, August 8th local time.

National Teams that are promised a berth in the quarterfinals for Afrobasket are defending champions Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, and Cameroon, all four of these teams went undefeated in their first two days of pool play. Follow the African Nations Basketball Championships in our Afrobasket forum.

On the Asian side, 2007 Asiabasket champions Iran, China, Jordan, Korea, and the Philippines have started 2-0 going into their third games today.  After winning their first two games, these five teams will move onto the quarterfinals even if they lose today.  For more about the Asia Basketball Championships, visit our Asiabasket forum.

The final goal of the gathered national teams is to grab one of three available berths to the World Championships in 2010.  Both Africa and Asia will send the top three finishers from the tournament to the 2010 global basketball tournament.

Links and Resources: 2009 Afrobasket Schedule (Fiba.com),  2009 Asiabasket Schedule (Fiba.com)

Title: Afrobasket 2009
Location: Tripoli, Libya
Official Site: http://libya2009.fiba.com
Information: The 2009 Africa Nations Basketball Championships, or Afrobasket, starts in less than a week.

The 25th Afrobasket (discuss) is being held August 5-15 in Tripoli, Libya.

Teams participating include Libya (host), Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Congo, Egypt, Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa, and Senegal.

Discuss the 2009 Africa Championships of Basketball in our forum.

In the last decade of Afrobasket tournaments, the national team from Angola has been the most dominant and most organized nation.  Behind players like Joaquim Gomes, Olímpio Cipriano, Ângelo Victoriano, Eduardo Mingas, and Carlos Morais, the Angolans have won gold in nine of the last ten Afrobasket tournaments, with Senegal interrupting the dominance in 1997.

Can Nigeria and Cameroon, the two teams with the best chances of defeating Angola, finally break through and end Angola’s golden era of basketball? 

The Africa Nations Championship will feature several big names.  In addition to Angola’s Gomes, Mingas, Morais, and Cipriano, there is Boniface N’Dong, Pape Sow, and DeSagna Diop of Senegal, Gabe Muoneke and Ebi Ere of Nigeria, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Alfred Aboya, and Brice Vounang from Cameroon.

The top three teams from the Afrobasket tournament will automatically qualify for the FIBA World Championship being held in Turkey.  Even if African nation doesn’t finish in the top three, there is still a chance to make the World Championships, as 3-4 more teams can be selected as wild cards by FIBA to complete the 24-team field.

When we made our “Top Ten International Players to Watch during March Madness” list out, we made a huge mistake by not including USC’s Daniel Hackett in our initial list.  Going into this weekend’s final four, we’ve watched the games and done the  research, in order to followup on our list and re-ranking the players as to their performances.

NR. (-2) Dogus Balbay, the point guard from Turkey finished his two games with just 7 points, 3 assists, and team-high EIGHT TURNOVERS.  Balbay had a negative assist/turnover ratio, and that’s not a good thing for the starting point guard, nor is it good for his standing on this list.  Balbay moves down from #9 to not-ranked solely because of his turnovers.

10. (-1) Kristof Ongenaet the senior from Syracuse did not score a single point during March Madness. That’s probably because Ongenaet did not even attempt a single shot; however, he finished with 7 rebounds in 17 minutes.   Why is he #8, not much was expected of him.  Weird that Ongenaet registered a DNP against lowly Stephen F. Austin.  He makes the list above Balbay because despite not making much of a positive impact, Ongenaet didn’t hurt his team when he was on the court.

9. (-5) Luke Nevill’s fifth-seeded Utah Utes were bounced by twelfth-seeded Arizona State.  Nevill scored 12 points and hauled in 6 rebounds in the loss, respectable numbers, but the Utes needed much more from Nevill.  Arizona swarmed the 7-2 Aussie, and highlighted weaknesses in his game.  Even so, despite his poor performance, Nevill remains on the NBA’s radar under the category of “You can’t teach height.”

8. (-1) Jonathan Tavernari, the Brazilian forward who was recruited in high school under an intense recruiting controversy scored 9 points in BYU’s loss to Texas A&M, all from 3-pointers.   Before the loss, Tavernari said that “there’s more to life than basketball…My progress as a person has been as great, if not better, than my progress as a basketball player.”  That’s all nice and good because his performance was nothing to write home about.

7. (-2) Artsiom Parakhouski helped Radford get to the tournament, but nobody on Radford’s team, including Parakhouski could help them upset the #1 Tarheels.  Although the 6-11 Parakhouski scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against North Carolina, he only shot 3-15 against the UNC’s long frontline and Radford was drummed by 43 points.  From Belarus, Parakhousksi will be returning to Radford for his Senior season.

(Read the top-six)

6. (+2) As always, Alfred Aboya gave it his all in U.C.L.A.’s two games.   The 6-9 Cameroonian put up 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in UCLA’s victory against Virginia Commonwealth and 9 points, 8 rebounds in a loss to the Villanova.  Aboya helped UCLA by making 10 of his 11 free throws in both games.  The 24-year-old senior will stay with the Cameroonian National Team and try his hand with the NBA next season.

5. (-3)  Greivis Vasquez (Venezuela) It’s unclear if Vasquez’s performances during March Madness helped elevate his NBA draft status.  He did average 22.5 points (27 in Maryland’s first round victory) in two games.  Perhaps the most versatile guard in the country, he is a sure-fire first rounder, where he’ll be selected is the question.  What is clear is that Vasquez played badly against a Memphis team that Vasquez insisted would be unable to compete in the ACC.  Maryland lost to Memphis 89-70, and was ousted in the second round.

4. (NR) Daniel Hackett (Italy) We made a mistake of not including Hackett in our initial list.  And boy are we paying for it.  The 6-5 point guard from Pesaro, Italy comes in as #4 on our list with sincere apologies.  The lefty averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.3 steals in three games,while leading USC to the Sweet Sixteen.

3. (=) Samardo Samuels (Jamaica) and all of Louisville’s team are disappointed after losing to Michigan State. Samuels finished the game without a single point, whereas he averaged 14 points per game in all of Louisville’s victories during March Madness.   As a Freshman scoring 12 points per game, Samuels is no doubt considering his options to enter the NBA draft.  He’s a couple inches short by NBA standards, but he has potential.  Every player would benefit with another year in the NCAA, and Samuels might consider returning because the Cards will be stacked next year.

2. (-1) Hasheem Thabeet, the low-voiced Tanzanian, is still standing tall in the tournament. In his first four games, the Defensive Player of the Year averaged 11.5 points, 11.25 rebounds, and 2 blocks which included a couple underwhelming games against Texas A&M and Missouri.  UConn faces Michigan State next.   The Spartans have the bodies to pound Thabeet, including 6’10” Bosnian Goran Suton, as well as little-used 7-footer Nigerian Idong Ibok.   Whatever the outcome, expect Thabeet to join the NBA this year, being selected in the lottery.

1. (+5)  Goran Suton the Bosnian Big Man is having a wonderful tournament thus far jumping from #6 to #1 on our list.   Suton has had the best overall performances of all the players on the list.  It’s not just because Michigan State is in the Final Four, but Suton has turned his game up significantly.  In four tournament games Suton is averaging 14.3 points, 12 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.25 blocks, and has shot 5-10 from behind the arc (50%), all those numbers are way above his season averages of 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks.

And the Spartans have periodically run their offense through Suton to great success; this was especially true against Louisville.  Suton registered a double-double against Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels, 19 points and 10 rebounds, as well as 4 assists.   A Senior, Suton will no doubt try his luck in the 2009 NBA draft, whether or not he is selected depends on his performance.  It’s most-likely, we’ll be hearing about Suton in the Euroleague.

Keep an eye out for our piece featuring Thabeet and Suton before the end of the day.  To check out our initial rankings of these players, read: Top Ten International Players to Watch during March Madness

With the 64 teams matched up, March Madness is less than 12 hours away.  And with that, Interbasket has collected the names of the top ten international players in this year’s field (discuss).

It’s a shame that the St. Mary’s Gaels and the Viriginia Tech Hokies didn’t make the tournament, that forced us to leave out the speedy Patrick Mills of Australia and A.D. Vassallo from Puerto Rico.

Alright enough talking, here are Interbasket’s Top Ten International College Players in this year’s NCAA Tournament:

10. Kristof Ongenaet (Belgium)
Syracuse Senior, 6-8, 215lb Power Forward
Key Stats: 3.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 47.3% FG
Known recently as the player that suffered an ugly fall after dunking the ball against Lousiville, Ongenaet is a 6-8 lunch pail-type power forward for Syracuse.  Ongenaet knows he’s not the star, or probably not one of the Orangemen’s top-five players when other teams scout Syracuse.  And Ongenaet revels in it.

“They should keep a stat on how many times I fall on the ground,” Ongenaet said. “But I’m just trying to get the ball and be aggressive and do the little things. It’s just part of my game. I’m glad to take those things and help the team.”

This will be Ongenaet’s first and final March Madness, look for him to be on the floor even more when Syracuse takes on when they play No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin. Every team needs an Ongenaet, and that’s why we put him at #10.  For more on Kristof Ongenaet, Read: Kristof Ongenaet says goodbye to the Dome after 2 years as Syracuse men’s basketball’s ‘glue guy’ (Daily Orange), Kristof Ongenaet dunks, falls in Big East Championship (Interbasket)

9. Dogus Balbay (Turkey)
Texas Sophomore, 6-0 176lb Point Guard
Key Stats: 3.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steal, 44.8% FG, 45% FT
Don’t let Dogus Balbay’s 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a free throw percentage barely higher than his field goal percentage fool you.

The real numbers you should look at are 6.0 point, 5.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 46.7% from the field – those averages represent Balbay’s numbers in the eleven games since Balbay was inserted into Texas’s starting lineup.

Balbay has become an integral part of the Texas Longhorns’ offense. Some would even say he is the main conductor, “If you watch tape, you see he’s a leader. He’s talking, directing traffic…” said Texas coach Rick Barnes.

“Dogus is pushing the ball more,” said Texas shooting guard AJ Abrams. “It gives me a chance to catch and shoot, or catch and rip with one dribble.”

Balbay could eventually be higher on the list, but since he really doesn’t have a jumpshot, and we’ve only see him really produce for 11 games, he ends up at #9 on our list.  For more on Dogus Balbay, read: Dogus Balbay Player Profile (Interbasket), Dogus directs Texas offense (The Daily Texan)

8. Alfred Aboya (Cameroon)
U.C.L.A. Senior, 6-9, 245lb Center
Key Stats: 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 steal, 55.2% FG, 67.5% FT
As an undersized 6-9 player manning the pivot, Alfred Aboya is U.C.L.A.’s third leading scorer (9.8), leading rebounder (6.2), and is the hardest worker on the team.

Like many prospects from Africa, Aboya came to the United States very raw, and defensive minded.  Now in his Senior year, the native from Cameroon has put in the time and dedication in making himself more of a threat on the offensive end, as well as on NBA radars.

“Improvement is about repetition.” the 24-year old Aboya told The Daily Bruin. “When you get the chance to practice and be active with your teammates, it helps you and it helps them. You help each other become a better player.”

Through his hard work, Aboya is averaging a career high in points this season, and has added a reliable midrange game.

With that said, U.C.L.A.’s starting five of Darren Collison (14.5), Josh Shipp (14.4), Aboya (9.8), Nikola Dragovic (9.3), and Jrue Holiday are arguably the most-rounded starting five in the tournament.

Aboya is #8 on our list not so much for his newfound mid range jumper, but for his defensive skills and hard work on both sides of the court.  And really, how can you not cheer for a guy like this?

U.C.L.A. is seeded #6 and will take on #11-seeded Virginia Commonwealth on Thursday. For more about Alfred Aboya, read:  UCLA’s Alfred Aboya, Inspiration through Basketball (Interbasket)

7. Jonathan Tavernari (Brazil)
Brigham Young University Junior, 6-6, 215lb, Forward
Key Stats: 15.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 43.4% FG, 38% 3PT
The 6-6 power small forward from Brazil is BYU’s third leading scorer, leading rebounder, and is second on the team in steals.

Tavernari splits time on the inside, as evidenced by team leading 7.3 rebounds, as well as a perimeter, as a consistent three-point threat – he’s hit 82 three-pointers this season, team leader in that category.

He was named 2007 Mountain West Freshman of the year, and during his Sophomore campaign, set a BYU single season record by hitting 88 three pointers.

Tavernari comes from Sao Bernardo, Brazil and when Tavernari was recruited out of Brazil, by Bishop Gorman High School, he became the center of a controversy that he wanted no part of.   Because of his recruitment, many of the local Southern NevadaHigh Schools threatened to pull out of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.  As Tavernari became eligible and dominated by avergaing  25 points and 10 rebounds per game, the TV cameras, protests and police escorts were at every match.

Tavernari is #7 on our top ten list.  For more about Jonathan Tavernari, read: Hard to gag BYU’s Tavernari and his game (Rivals Yahoo)

6. Goran Suton (Bosnia)
Michigan State Senior, 6-10, 245lb Center
Key Stats: 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists,  54% FG, 39.4%, 84.1% FT
Via war-torn Bosnia, Goran Suton is a strong rebounder and Michigan State’s best post player. He led the team with five double-doubles despite missing five games earlier in the season because of a knee-injury.

“G,” as his teammates refer to him, is an efficient offensive player who shoots 54% from the field, 39.4% from three, and 84.1% from the free-throw line. can also hit the occasional three pointer, and an very good passer.

Goran’s 8.4 rebounds per game in Big Ten play, becoming Michigan State’s first player to lead the conference in rebounding since Antonio Smith did in 1997.   Even with that accomplishment, MSU coach Tom Izzo believes Suton can do better, to fight more, and motivate himself.  “Goran has to bring it every minute of every game.” said Izzo after MSU defeated Wisconsin in late Febraury.

With the Final Four culminating in Detroit, Suton should have no problem finding that extra motivation to go deep into the tournament, “I feel we can be a really good team. If we continue to play good defense and rebound, it will happen.” Suton said. “If we go out without a Final Four, it would be very disappointing.”

Suton was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s NCAA Basketball March Madness issue along with Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, Pittsburgh’s Sam Young, Memphis’ Tyreke Evans, Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, Louisville’s Terrence Williams, and Duke’s Gerald Henderson.  Not bad company.  Check out the cover here.

Points for being on SI, and nearly averaging a double-double.  Suton is #6 because even with Raymar Morgan, the big fella is key to Michigan State’s hopes in advancing.  The #2 seeded Michigan State Spartans will take on #15 Robert Morris on Friday, March 20th.

5. Artsiom Parakhouski (Belarus)
Radford Junior, 6-11, 260lb Center
Key Stats: 16.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 blocks, 55.2% FG, 65.5% FT
Artsiom Parakhouski is not the most-talented player on the list, nor would he be here if litte Radford U didn’t have such a great run and took the Big South’s automatic bid to the tournament, but that doesn’t minimize the importance of the 6-11 center from Belarus.

With Parakhouski in Radford’s lineup, the Highlanders won the Big South conference regular season title and the Big South tournament, both firsts for the little school in Virginia.

Pronounced art-SEE-um pair-uh-COW-ski, Artsiom has only been playing basketball for only the last five years — and learning English for less than three.

Parakhouski hopes to lead Radford to another first, their first March Madness win.  A tall order especially against the #1 seeded North Carolina TarHeels, but anything is possible this time of year, “The little schools are losing nothing if they lose,” said Parakhouski. “Nobody knows them. It’s just going in and playing free. But big schools, they are under the big pressure. And sometimes small schools are beating big schools.”

“I like our chance,” Parakhouski says smiling.

Parakhouski makes our list at #5 because even though he’s playing for a small school, no one player on this list is more important to his team. For more about Artsiom Parakhouski, read: Season of wonder at Radford: Coach, center spark NCAA run (USA Today), Large Artsiom Parakhouski leads little Radford to Big Dance (Interbasket)

4. Luke Nevell, Utah (Australia)
Utah Junior, 7-2, 265lb Center
Key Stats: 16.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 60.7% FG, 79.1% FT
From Perth, Australia, Luke Nevill is Utah’s 7-2 center that became the first player ever to earn both the Mountain West Conference‘s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same year.

Nevill also led the Utes to the 2009 Moutain West Championship, and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after putting up 18 points and 15 rebounds in a tight 52-50 win over San Diego State.

Just as the 7-0 Aussie Andrew Bogut came through the University of Utah on his way to the NBA, Luke Nevill hopes to take a similar path to the next level.

But despite the glaring similarities; attending Utah, hailing from down under, and being a seven-foot center, Nevill doesn’t exactly mirror his countryman.  Andrew Bogut has never had problems being aggressive or physical, two traists that the shaggy-haired Nevill is generally criticized for lacking.

Still, Nevill doesn’t let all that bother him too much, his hopes that team success, along with his numbers will translate in the tournament as well as on the next level, “Teams at the next level want winners and want players who win games,” said Nevill, “The more you win, the better you get.”

Utah is the number 5 seed and is matched up against 12th-seeded Arizona Wildcats where Nevill will have to go up against another NBA prospect in Jordan Hill.  For more about Luke Nevell, read:  Utah’s Nevill moving ever closer to fulfilling NBA dream (Salt Lake City Tribune)

3. Samardo Samuels (Jamaica)
Lousiville Freshman, 6-8, 260lb Power Forward/Center
Key Stats: 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 59.0% FG, 67.1% FT
Coming to the United States from Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, Samardo Samuels is a super-freshman playing for the Louisville Cardinals (28-5), whom ended the regular season ranked #1 overall by the AP.  The 6-9, 260lbs power forward has started every game of the season and hasn’t disappointed by putting up 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 60% shooting from the floor.

Samardo was a highly-sought players in his high-school class before selecting Louisville  (North Carolina, Connecticut, and Georgetown were all in contention).

Despite being a 20-year old freshman, Samardo has the body of a man 5 years older.  At 6-8, and a rock-solid 260lbs, Samuels uses his strength, athelticism, and a team-leading 99 fouls to hold down Louisville’s interior.  Samuels led six Cardinals in double figures with 15 points as Louisville defeated Syracuse 76-66 in the 2009 Big East Championship.

The #1 seeded Louisville Cardinals will take on #16 Morehead State.

Samardo Samuels makes our list at #3, not bad for a Freshman.  We’re likely not going to see him put on a Louisville jersey after the season.  For more about Samardo Samuels, read: From Jamaica, with love (CNN/SI)

2. Greivis Vasquez (Venezuela)
Maryland Junior, 6-5, 190lb Guard
Key Stats: 17.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 39.9% FG, 31.9% 3PT, 87.7% FT
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, the divisive Vasquez is the do-it-all player for Maryland – one of those rare college players that averages more than 5 rebounds and 5 assists.   Vasquez used a variety of drives, teardrops, and three-pointers to show off his ability to fill up the boxscore in Maryland’s 88-85 upset of North Carolina.  Vasquez had a triple double in that game, 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Greivis loves to incite the crowd, in fact he feeds off it.  Whether at home or on the road, he always seems to be yelling at fans, popping his jersey, or shooting a meaningless three pointer with the game well in hand.  Vasquez’s motivation on the court sometimes comes from an ongoing conversation with the fans off the court.  Whatever it is, Maryland needs Greivis Vasquez to be aggressive because the pattern is, when Vasquez is involved, Maryland can compete with any team in the country.  Ask North Carolina.  “Greivis is one of those guys who loves the game, loves to play and loves to compete.” Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

The problem with Vasquez is that he isn’t always consistent with his performances, but when he is, Maryland can be as dangerous as his mouth.  And that’s why Vasquez is #2 on our list.

1. Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania)
Connecticut Junior, 7-3, 265lb Center
Key Stats: 13.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.6 blocks, 64.3% FG , 62.2% FT
The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and Big East Player of the Year (shared with Dejuan Blair), Hasheem Thabeet has polished his offense this year and has become a game changer on both sides of the court.  So much so, that the 7-3 center is projected by most mock drafts as #2 pick in next years NBA Draft after concensus Blake Griffin.

Still even with a career high 13.7 points a game, teh Second-Team All-American’s biggest strength are his reaction time and  long arms, which allow Thabeet to make opponents think twice, and block shots at a record pace (the junior center is four blocks away from breaking the career Big East record set by Patrick Ewing, who played four years at Georgetown), “Blocking shots is like telling them ‘don’t come back,’ ” said Thabeet. “They going to come back, you gonna block it again everytime they come to the paint the lane, they gonna make a U-turn or they gonna end up taking a bad shot.”

Thabeet will be the overwhelming reason why there will be no upset when #1 seeded UConn Huskies takes on #16 Chatanooga.  For more about Hasheem Thabeet, read: Hasheem Thabeet wins Defensive and Player of Year Awards (Interbasket)

And that completes are top ten list.  Any thoughts? Comments? Apologies go out to Nikola Dragovic of U.C.L.A. (Serbia), Benson Akpan of Stephen P. Austin (Nigeria), and Kirill Pishchalnikov of Virginia Commonwealth (Russia)

Link and Resources: Kristof Ongenaet dunks, flips over in Big East Championship (Interbasket), Download Iphone March Madness App (iTunes), Artsiom Parakhouski leads Radford to Big Dance (Interbasket), Greivis Vasquez, Maryland shocks #3 North Carolina (Interbasket), NBA Prospect Patrick Mills injures hand, out 4 weeks (Interbasket), Jeremy Lin of Harvard, Asians struggles with Basketball Discrimination (Interbasket), College Basketball on your iPhone (collegebasketballiphone), UCLA’s Alfred Aboya: Inspiration through Basketball (Interbasket)

A New York Times article chronicles the journey of Alfred Aboya Baliaba, and how the native from Yaounde, Cameroon has elevated his game after coming to the United States, both on the court and off.

“I owe everything to basketball,” Aboya told the New York Times in his native French. “Without basketball, I wouldn’t be here. I probably wouldn’t even have gone to college. And it’s thanks to basketball that I can live out my dreams.”

Aboya can speak English, French, Spanish and several Cameroonian dialects.  And he received his Bachelor’s Degree in just three-years, an impressive accomplishment on his own, but when you add a hectic basketball schedule to a full load of classes, it becomes even much more impressive.

“Alfred is so committed and driven,” said U.C.L.A. Assistant Coach Scott Garson whom visited Cameroon with Aboya last summer. “If there was ever a prototypical academic All-American then it is Alfred in the truest sense of the word student-athlete.

Alfred is now in his first year of Graduate School at U.C.L.A.

“Alfred takes full advantage of (his) opportunities here.” said Garson.

Hard Work and Determination on the court
The 6-9, 245lb U.C.L.A. center points to his discipline as the reason why he is successful in the classroom, and that is the same reason why Aboya has grown more and more successful on the court.

“When you’re mentally prepared to accomplish something, it’s easier to get through it.” Aboya said.

Aboya’s hard work and dedication has helped to shape himself from a raw basketball talent with strong defensive skills, to a player that can be counted on for consistent contributions on both ends of the court.  “You can see (Alfred’s) work ethic in how he’s so determined.” teammate Josh Shipp said.

Aboya was named PAC-10 Player of the Week for Feb 2-8, 2009.  In addition to 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in 25.5 minutes in two victories over U.S.C. and Notre Dame, Aboya’s defense contributed to holding USC’s Taj Gibson to two points and Notre Dame’s Luke Harangodyto five points in those matches.

And Aboya continues to work, to improve.

“Improvement is about repetition.” the 24-year old Aboya told The Daily Bruin. “When you get the chance to practice and be active with your teammates, it helps you and it helps them. You help each other become a better player.”

Aboya hopes to follow in the footsteps of his fellow countryman and former UCLA teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute into the NBA, but if that doesn’t pan out, it’s shouldn’t be a surprise that Aboya has other plans.  Aboya aspires to become president of his native country, Cameroon.

“I feel like I need to change my country,” said Aboya. “My country is politically stable, but I feel like there is a lot that still needs to be changed and I feel like I’m the person to do that.”

Links and Resources: With Every Dunk, Aboya Soars Higher with U.C.L.A. (New York Times), On the court, in the classroom, Aboya rises to the challenge (ESPN), Q & A with Alfred Aboya (Daily Bruin), Alfred Aboya is happening for U.C.L.A. (L.A. Times), Alfred Aboya: Pac-10 Player of the Week (CollegeSportsNet)

Coming into the Olympic World Qualifying Tournament, the national teams from Cameroon and Korea weren’t exactly viewed as basketball powerhouses, nor were they considered serious threats to medal.  And if you looked at FIBA’s latest world rankings and compared that to the teams participating, you would probably come to the same conclusion.

Host country and favorites Greece, is #6 on FIBA’s rankings.  Not far behind was Germany whom is ranked 9th overall, Puerto Rico is12th, with New Zealand at number 13.  Continuing down the list, we found Canada (17), Brazil (18), Slovenia (19), Croatia (20) all bunched together, but were all similarly ranked higher than both Cameroon and Korea.  As was Lebanon (#23). In fact, the only the team in the tournament that was from ranked lower on the list of potential threats was Cape Verde at #56.

Even so, and despite Cameroon and Korea’s winless records through pool play (both went 0-2), their inspired play and aggressive comebacks against stronger European and Americas counterparts were definite eye-openers from the normally less-competitive African and Asian nations.

Cameroon National Team
The team from Cameroon fought not only opponents on the court, but had to deal with distractions off it as the team threatened to boycott the tournament because of broken promises from their basketball federation back home.

Despite those distractions, led by their 6-8 power forward Harding Nana, the small African nation displayed awesome athleticism and the never-say-die approach as they outworked and out-rebounded the favorited Croatians 39-26.  Though they eventually fell to the fast-breaking Croats 93-79, the Cameroonians made it known that night that there was more than Angola when it came to African basketball.

“They wanted to show to the entire world that Cameroon can be a force for years to come, not just in Africa, but the whole world. They wanted to show what this could have been if everything could have been in place.” said head coach Lazare Adingono.

The next night against Puerto Rico, Cameroon once again decided to go on with the game in spite of their government.  And once again Cameroon fell behind by 22 points. But in the same vein as the previous night, they frantically make a comeback in the fourth quarter.

With 1:40 remaining, a shot by Nana pulled the Cameroon team within three points, 70-67.  But Puerto Rican guard Larry Ayuso would hit a three-pointer on the next possession, ending the comeback.  The game eventually went to Puerto Rico 81-72, but not before making another statement for African basketball as well as pushing Nana Harding into the limelight with an exceptional 22 points and 14 rebounds in the game.

South Korea National Team
Korea had a very similar experience as Cameroon.  Coming into the tournament rated 10th out of 12 participating national teams wasn’t exactly a confidence booster, but teams from Asia, even perennial Asian champion and Olympic host China, are used to coming into these international tournaments without much respect.

In their first game against Slovenia, the Koreans found themselves in a huge 21-point hole in the third quarter.  However, the Koreans remained calm and controlled, continually cutting the lead down until it reached only five points.  The Slovenians answered with key plays from Jaka Lakovic and Goran Dragic, pushing the lead back up to nine with a little under four minutes to play.  Team Korea, led by Kim Joo Sung’s 21 points, would not get any closer than six points and Slovenia would end up winning the match 88-76.

Korea have a very good team,” Slovenian guard and NBA draftee Dragic said. “We didn’t know too much about them and they came back.”

In their second pool game, the Korean’s actually found themselves ahead by a large margin before finally falling to Canada 79-77.  Taking advantage of the Samuel Dalembert drama, the Koreans opened up an 18 point lead in the third quarter, 51-33, thanks in large part to Chun Jungkyu’s 19 first-half points and 5-8 shooting behind the arc.

After a three-point play from Jung Young Sam, the Koreans were up 12 points with with about three minutes remaining in the game, but the Canadiens would end the game on a 14-0 run.

After Levon Kendall tipped in a missed shot for the Canadians, things really began to fall apart for the Korean team; in a matter of 45 seconds, the Canadians would score eight unanswered points and cut the lead down to three before eventually taking the game away from Korea’s grasp.

Jermaine Anderson would start and end the comeback.  Anderson’s started it with a steal off of Korea’s Oh Sekeun for an uncontested layup.  Carl English followed that up with his own three-point play as the Koreans turned the ball over again as they failed to inbound the ball in time.  After two missed free throws by Jung, Rowan Barrett would hits a a buzzer-beating three for Canada, making the score 77-75.

A 24-second violation on Korea would set up an Anderson’s three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining, making the score 78-77 in favor of the Canadians.  An Anderson free-throw would make the final margin.

“We lost a lot of battles for the rebound, we missed some shots, and these two were essential factors, the fact that we lost today makes me really sad,” said Kim Nam-gi, Korea’s coach. “This is a game I will remember until the day I die.”

An Issue of Priorities
Winning games and medals are important, so are Olympic berths, but for teams like Cameroon, Korea, and Cape Verde, qualification for such these type of tournaments are accomplishments within themselves.  And though they’ll head home without an Olympic berth, or even so much as a single victory, the fact that they competed on the international stage is something they can continually build on and gauge their progress with.

Greatness just doesn’t happen, it has to start somewhere.  Some countries have great basketball programs and history, professional leagues, financial backing, and other resources, while other countries place priorities and resources elsewhere.  And because of this they begin their basketball journey later and spend the next 30 years playing catch up to the world.

Teams like Croatia, Puerto Rico, and Slovenia may not remember these games as well, as their player play in  stronger domestic and neighboring leagues, but for teams like Cameroon, Cape Verde, Lebanon and South Korea, the chance to play, compete, and eventually win against international competition is key not only to their respective nations, but to their entire continent’s progress.

Links and Resources: FIBA World Rankings for Men (FIBA),  Without Support, Cameroon plays for Family, Pride (Interbasket), Croatia win as Cameroon play only for pride (Fiba), Olympic Qualifying Tournament Forum (Interbasket Forum), Cameroon National Team Discussion (Interbasket), Puerto Rico edge Cameroon to reach last eight (FIBA), 2008 Korea NT for Olympics Qualifier (Interbasket), Slovenia avoid upset against determined Korea (FIBA), Rock-solid Canada strike back to stun Korea and reach quarter-final (FIBA)