Group A
FIBA World Ranking:
21st
Qualfied By: 3rd at the
2011 Afrobasket, Won
the Third-Place Game of
the 2012 Olympic
Qualifying Tournament
Previous Olympic
Appearances: None
NBA Players: Al-Farouq
Aminu (New Orleans
Hornets)
History: Nigeria has
always been an African
power, but that doesn't
mean much because it's
the weakest zone in
FIBA, and because
Angola pretty much
dominated the region
since the late 70s.
The country has always
been a source of a good
deal of college and NBA
players, including
Hakeem Olajuwon and
the infamous Michael
Olowakandi, but they've
never had much
organization at the
national level due to a
lack of competitive
domestic teams and
poor government
management. They've
been to two FIBA World
Championships, including
an impressive run in
2006 where they nearly
upset Germany in the
Round of 16.
Overview: Despite the
above success, having
Nigeria in the Olympics
is a huge coup for the
country. Sure, they've
seen some international
wins before, but
they've never been
higher than 13th in an
international
tournament, and the
Olympic tournament
only includes 12 teams.
Secondly, they defeated
basketball
powerhouses Lithuania
and Greece to get
where they are now,
making for the
country's two biggest
wins since they
defeated Serbia and
Montenegro in 2006.
Thirdly, it's the first
time in Olympic history
that two African teams
will be represented in
basketball.
And, before you think it,
these guys aren't first
round fodder. Nothing
irks me more than
hearing Fran Fraschilla
get on ESPN and blather
on about how Nigeria
has no chance, and how
they and Tunisia are an
automatic win for
everyone else in the
group. Anyone who
thinks this team
doesn't stand a chance
clearly hasn't watched
them grow and evolve
through the Olympic
Qualifying Tournament.
They went from an
uncoordinated team
that could barely keep
up with Venezuela to a
unique offensive attack
with the talent to best
some of the best
teams in the world, and
their roster doesn't
even come close to
resembling what they
trotted out for the
2011 Afrobasket.
Strengths and
Weaknesses
This Nigerian team is
unique because they
don't have a point guard
in the traditional sense,
and they have a variety
of different ways with
which to score. In some
of the earlier games
where they struggled,
they might have gone
an entire half without
dishing an assist.
Instead, they let
individual players try to
make scores in isolation
sets or post ups.
Guards like Anthony
Skinn, and Ade
Dagunduro will drive
ferociously against their
matchup, getting a foul
in the paint or creating
space for a slick looking
shot. Derrick Obasohan
does the same, except
he has more of a
tendency to shoot. The
bigs on the team also
have their own way of
scoring. Current NBA
Player Al-Farouq Aminu
runs the break well and
can stretch the defense
with his threes, while
former NBA player Ike
Diogu has an array of
post moves, and can
also hit a few threes
himself. The team also
has a pure shooter in
Chamberlain Oguchi, and
another useful
transition partner for
Al-Farouq in his brother,
Alade Aminu.
Though this team
doesn't have the talent
level of Spain, the
United States, or
France, they're perfectly
suited to beat the
European style of play
because they're not
intimidated by the zone
any more than a man-
to-man defense.
They're also big enough
to out-rebound most
teams, and they can
force enough steals to
get easy points in
transition. But, because
of their reliance on
rebounding and
unconventional offense,
they can find
themselves in long
period of offensive
drought, especially
against bigger teams
like Russia or Spain.
Also, because of their
reliance on athleticism
and individual skill, they
wouldn't be able to
outwit a team like
France or the United
States.
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