Miami Heat center Precious Achiuwa turned in an incredible sequence on defense this week, and earned a high comparison from Nigerian head coach Mike Brown afterward.
Achiuwa was among 15 players named to the Nigerian preliminary roster for the Olympics in Tokyo. The team has been participating in training camp in Las Vegas before tipping of exhibition play on Saturday versus the United States.
On one sequence, Achiuwa impressed his head coach in camp with his energy and effort on a defensive possession. The display by Achiuwa immediately warranted a strong reaction from Brown, which reminded him of Draymond Green.
Precious Achiuwa two days ago, on one possession, guarded seven guys. Only five were on the floor; he was guarding two other guys on the sideline and then got the block at the end of the possession. I went up to him after and said, ‘Precious, that’s what we need from you!’
I’m sure (Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) wants the same thing but that’s what Draymond gives us every single possession. He guards everybody, including the water boy and then he pushes it on the break for us the other way. There are a lot of similarities here based on the feedback we got from the players and also from Spo.
Achiuwa, who was born in Port Harcourt, appears to have a strong chance to make the final 12-man Olympic roster for Nigeria. He gives the team a strong inside presence with his size and can defend and alter shots down low on the defensive end.
Certainly earning a little comparison to Green, a former Defensive Player of the Year, is high praise for a player coming of his first season in the NBA. Of course, Achiuwa still has a long way to go to match Green on that end of the floor but it appears he can develop into a strong defender.
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Nigeria is expected to unveil the final roster after wrapping up its three-game exhibition schedule on July 13 versus Australia. In addition to Achiuwa, the roster also features other NBA players like Jahlil Okafor, Josh Okogie and Jordan Nwora.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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