Denver Nuggets guard Monte Morris is one of 13 NBA players named on Nigeria's Olympic Games preliminary roster by head coach Mike Brown at a training camp in California.
Nigeria opened camp in Tokyo on 20 June to prepare for the Games, which would begin on 23 July, and play exhibition games against the United States, Argentina and Australia between 10 and 13 July.
Morris, whose nationality switch to Nigeria was announced only in March, is one of eight former and current NBA players in line to make their international debut for Nigeria, while five others already have D. 'Tiger's experience.
Brown's biggest achievement is the arrival of Miye Oni, OG Anunoby and joth Okafor. The trio are among the many players Brown has been dating for the D'Tigers since being named as Nigeria coach two years ago, and their names on the roster have been met with enthusiasm in the Nigerian basketball fraternity.
The other eight included Udoka Azubuike of Utah, as well as the Miami pair of KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa. Festus Ageli, who won the NBA Championship with Golden State, rounded up the list of debutants.
Azubuike, Achiuwa and Jordan Navora - who have already represented Nigeria since their college days, and played in the 2019 FIBA World Cup - are among nine players of Nigerian origin who were selected in the 2020 NBA Draft, And the coach had nothing but high praise for him.
Warriors assistant coach Brown told ESPN: "They're playing really well, most of them have contributed to their teams in different ways, some in bigger ways than others.
“You look at Isaac Okoro [who is not on this Nigeria roster] with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he is on top of form. Every time I look at the box scores from his game, he is scoring in double digits And so, the impact that he has in Cleveland, with his youth team, is monumental and his role with that franchise is going to grow every year.
"And then you look at Precious Achiuwa from the Miami Heat, he's on his way to becoming a great player and he's gone through a phase where he was starting out for them.
“I can go on and on in naming the contributions that each person is bringing to the table for their teams, which is exciting to me, and it should be exciting to the whole of Nigeria, which has an impact in the NBA, because they are part of the program. are the future."
Debuting aside, Brown has a sizable number of returning internationals to call on, and he's featured Josh Okogi (Minnesota Timberwolves), Gabriel Vincent (Miami Heat), Al-Farooq Aminu (Chicago Bulls), Jordan Navora (Chicago Bulls). Milwaukee Bucks) and Chimezi Metu (Sacramento Kings).
All five are making a comeback to the squad after participating in the 2019 FIBA World Cup where Nigeria became the first African team to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
But Brown isn't just about NBA players, and 2021 NBA Draft prospect Ike Nduguba is one of a group of college players who will be seen emulating Navora by playing for Nigeria before making an appearance in the NBA.
The Browns' 49-man starting roster includes many American college players with NBA prospects, veterans from Europe and around the world, including many players with NBA experience, as Nigeria seeks to become the first African team to win an Olympic basketball medal. is.
Team captain Ike Diogu returns for his swansong and will lead a squad of legends such as Ekpe Udoh and Ben Uzoh, who are competing in the Basketball Africa League.
Nigeria are in Group B with Australia, and are the undetermined winners of the Olympic qualifying tournaments in Serbia and Croatia from 29 June to 4 July.
Brown is expecting some tough competition, even from the opposition still battling qualifying: "It's going to be tough, the competition is going to be fierce.
"Team Australia is third in the world, so they're not going to be any pushover. And I'm sure the teams that still need to qualify for the Olympics will be good in their own right.
"And the thing that they will have is beneficial for us, they are already going to practice for the pre-qualifying tournaments they got to participate in, so they are going to be experienced and ready to go. Huh .
"It's time for the Olympics, when it's time to play the games, they get into some sort of groove."