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| Gizaa pictured with with Kyrie Irving. |
Egyptian basketball as a whole continues to gain traction in the overall sport as more and more young talent is being cultivated and developed through various tournaments and teams.
By: Michael Hanley
High schools and college programs in the United States are starting to take notice as some highly skilled and talented Egyptian players make their way to the states to take their game to the next level and give themselves new opportunities to expand their game overall and new stages to showcase what kind of basketball player that are and can be in the future.
Ehab Amin is certainly one of those players that is helping elevate the sport of basketball in his country. Back in August, Amin was invited and attended the Nike Global Challenge which is a highly competitive and recognized tournament that brings the best high school players from around the world to compete and play for their country against other participating countries. He made waves at this year’s challenge as he was the first Egyptian basketball player to be invited to this event, quite an accomplishment in itself.
Once he stepped onto the court, he would make a great first impression. In his first game playing at the Nike Global Challenge, Amin would put on quite the show as he scored 28 points on 10/23 shooting from the floor, including nailing five three pointers in 33 minutes of playing time. Though his Pan African team lost that game against Team U.S.A South, he showed that day in August that he was not happy simply by being invited, he wanted to make a statement and open some eyes.
Though he did not put up the sparkling numbers of his first game in the proceeding three games vs U.S.A South, China and Brazil, Amin did acquit himself very solidly as his totals for the four games played in this tournament came out to be 12.5 ppg, 2.2 assists per game, 4.5 steals per game, a solid 77% from the free throw line & 35% from shooting from the floor.This tournament experience will serve him well as he continues to build upon his overall game.
Egypt is continuing to produce more and more high school talent each year and not just talent that has a chance to be good, it has players who have a chance to be great players who can come over to the United States and become some of the top players in all of the country.
This is due to Egypt making basketball, and the overall improvement of it, important in its eyes and giving players, coaches and teams the support and resources it needs to help develop basketball players who can help the country accomplish its basketball goals while also opening the door to succeed in other countries like the U.S at the high school and college level.
One of those rising stars in the high school ranks for Egyptian basketball is Mohamed Ahmed, better known as Gizaa. This young man has already made plenty of noise in international competitions he has entered over the last couple of years, especially this year.
First he is the reigning MVP of the African League, an honor that is a big one to get, highlighting just how good he has played on a consistent level. This was far from the only accomplish Gizaa has achieved in 2014.
He was a key part in helping Egypt’s U18 team qualify for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece. This opportunity will only boost and heighten the awareness of the continued improvement as Egypt rich with basketball talent. This also provides a chance for the club to accomplish a lot in terms of goals set by themselves and the country itself.
After winning the African Championship, Gizaa went into FIBA U17 World Cup event in Dubai. Though he was not there for the entirety of the world cup due to arriving late from winning the African Championship, he still put up respectable numbers. In the games he did play there, he averaged 13.5 ppg, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Though those numbers were not the ones Gizaa was looking to put up, considering the situation he was in arriving late, those numbers were a testament to his willingness & ability to give it all he had in order for the team & himself to succeed.
Aside from his work in that World Cup event, the production he is displaying in general FIBA International competition is eye popping. In competition, he is averaging 23.3 ppg, 4.1 rebound per game and 2.9 assists per game. Those numbers are incredible considering the competition he is facing in FIBA play.
That type of high level performance is what high school programs in the U.S would take in a heartbeat right now. A player that can score the ball like Gizaa can but also be able to dish out some assists and help set his teammates up to score and perform at a high level.
Gizaa will be coming over to the U.S and will only be a junior in high school once he arrives. Once more people in the states get a more overall look at him and his game, he will shoot right up a lot of people’s boards in terms of top overall players in the 2016 recruiting class.
Another name to look out for the the high school ranks this coming season in the U.S is Ahmed Metwally, who is also a point guard hailing from Egypt. He is a player with very high potential as he continues to mature his game each and every year. He was a teammate of Gizaa’s on the FIBA U17 team.
On that team, Metwally showcased his all around game as he averaged from the tournament 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1.4 assists per game. His ceiling is very high in terms of the impact he can make for a high school team in the U.S. He is a point guard that can be molded and developed into a real floor general with more time and game reps against good competition.
The future of Egyptian basketball will only continue to get brighter and brighter as more players come up and are able to get exposed to international tournaments and play against the world’s best. Their is a very good chance the United States will see its basketball start to see more Egyptian basketball players be involved and perform at a high level.
Follow me on twitter: @Magic20099
