Tag: Olympic basketball

Former Husker Jack McVeigh selected for Australia’s Basketball Olympic Team

Former Husker Jack McVeigh will represent his home country of Australia for the upcoming games.

Another Nebraska basketball player earned a spot on a basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Former Husker Jack McVeigh will represent his home country of Australia for the upcoming games.

This is McVeigh’s first Olympics after spending six seasons in the National Basketball League and playing for Nebraska from 2015 to 2018. The 6-foot, 8-inch forward averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds across 78 games for the Huskers. He also helped the 2017-18 team to a 13-5 record in Big Ten Conference play.

Following his collegiate career, the Cabarita Beach, New South Wales, Australia native competed in the NBL, playing for the Gold Coast Rollers, the Adelaide 36ers, and the Tasmania JackJumpers.

In his most recent season, McVeigh led the JackJumpers to the NBL Championship, averaging 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds across 37 games. His performance in the NBL Championship series earned him the NBL Grand Final MVP.

McVeigh is one of two Huskers to earn a spot on the Olympic roster, joining Keisei Tominaga, who will represent Japan in the upcoming games. Australia is in Group A, alongside Greece, Canada, and Spain, while Japan sits in Group B with Brazil, Germany, and France.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Keisei Tominaga named to Japan’s basketball roster for 2024 Paris Olympics

Japan announced that it selected Nebraska men’s basketball standout Keisei Tominaga to its 2024 Paris Olympic team.

A former Husker will once again represent his country on the Olympic level. Japan announced that it selected Nebraska men’s basketball standout Keisei Tominaga to its 2024 Paris Olympic team.

This is Tominaga’s second trip to the Olympics after playing for Japan’s 3×3 basketball team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Following a stellar career at Nebraska, he recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers.

Tominaga spent three seasons with the Huskers, tallying up 1,074 points to rank 30th on Nebraska’s career scoring list while finishing seventh on the Husker’s career 3-point list with 178. In his final season, he averaged 15.1 points per game while posting career highs in nearly every offensive category.

Tominaga landed 76 3-pointers in the 2023-24 season, ranking eighth on Nebraska’s single-season chart and sixth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game. His efforts helped Nebraska to a third-place Big Ten finish in 2024 and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.

In May 2024, he graduated from Nebraska with a degree in child, youth, and family studies and was a finalist for Nebraska’s Outstanding Male Student-Athlete and Male Athlete of the Year.

Tominaga joins Jack McVeigh (Australia) as a player in the 2024 Olympics, while former Husker great Tyronn Lue will serve as an assistant coach for the United States. Japan is in Group B with Brazil, Germany, and France, while Australia is placed in Group A alongside Greece, Canada, and Spain.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Wisconsin basketball multiyear starter to represent Puerto Rico in 2024 Olympics

Wisconsin basketball multiyear starter to represent Puerto Rico in 2024 Olympics

The Puerto Rico men’s national basketball team booked its ticket on Sunday to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. It did so with wins over Mexico and then Lithuania in the final two rounds of one of the FIBA men’s Olympic qualifying tournaments.

On the Puerto Rico team that will compete in the Olympics this summer is former Wisconsin multiyear starter Aleem Ford.

Related: Big Ten basketball teams ranked by returning production entering 2024-25 season

Ford first played for Puerto Rico during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He is part of the territory’s Olympic team along with New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado and Memphis Hustle (NBA G League) small forward Davon Reed.

The former Badger played four years in Madison, Wisconsin. His career included 126 games played from 2017-2021 and per-game averages of 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.3 blocks.

Ford has bounced around the professional ranks since departing college in 2021. His winding career has included stops with the Leones De Ponce (Puerto Rico, 2021), Lakeland Magic (NBA G League, 2021-22), Orlando Magic (2021), Leones De Ponce (2022), Lakeland Magic (2022-23), Leones De Ponce (2023), Cleveland Charge (NBA G League, 2023-24), Wisconsin Herd (NBA G League, 2023-24) and, finally, back with the Leones De Ponce (2024).

The small forward is looking to make a return to the NBA; he played in five games with the Orlando Magic during the 2021-22 season. A strong showing at the Olympics against some of the world’s top competition could facilitate that return.

He and the Puerto Rico national team will be in Group C when the Olympics tip off this month. They are in a group with the USA, Serbia and South Sudan. The top two teams in the group advance to the elimination bracket.

The action starts on Saturday, July 27 and continues into August.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

Watch the moment Chelsea Gray heard she’d be on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team

Chelsea Gray, a four-year star on the Duke women’s basketball team a decade ago, gets to chase her second gold medal this summer in Paris.

For the second time in her illustrious career, former Duke women’s basketball star Chelsea Gray is an Olympian.

USA Basketball shared several social media videos on Tuesday capturing the moment that members of the team learned they’d play in Paris. Gray got her moment alongside Las Vegas Aces teammates A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, who all made the team as well.

The four teammates, who combined to win the last two WNBA championships, embraced in a group hug after the announcement.

“It’s a blessing,” Gray said, wiping tears from her eyes after she got to see her Olympic jersey. “This was always the dream, just didn’t know if it was possible so I’m excited.”

Gray hasn’t played since she injured her foot during the 2023 WNBA Finals, but the three-time champion put up a career-high 7.3 assists last season. She also averaged 42.1% from 3-point range as well, the second-best mark of her career, and a personal-best 15.3 points per game.

Gray helped the United States take home the gold in Tokyo during the most recent Games three years ago.

USA Basketball shares first look at Duke women’s basketball alum Chelsea Gray’s Olympic jersey

USA Basketball unveiled Chelsea Gray’s Olympic jersey for this summer in Paris as the former Blue Devil makes her second Olympic run.

USA Basketball officially unveiled Chelsea Gray’s jersey for the 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday as the national team got officially filled out.

The team revealed that Gray, a three-time WNBA Champion, will wear No. 8 in Paris as she chases a second gold medal.

Gray played for the Blue Devils from 2010-14. She averaged at least 10 points per game in each of her final three seasons in Durham, and her 194 total assists as a sophomore remain a single-season school record. She was actually on pace for a higher total as a senior, when she averaged 7.2 dimes per game but only played 17 times.

Now a 10-year WNBA veteran, Gray helped the Las Vegas Aces win each of the last two championships. A career 38.6% 3-point shooter, the Blue Devil has remained one of the best passers in the league for her entire career. She’s averaged at least five assists per game in the last five seasons, including a career-high 7.3 in 2023.

Gray hasn’t played since the 2023 WNBA Finals, when she suffered a left foot injury, but she already won one gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Tominaga to skip NBA Summer League for 2024 Summer Olympics

Keisei Tominaga has been named to Japan’s Pre-Olympic Training Camp roster.

A Nebraska guard has decided to skip the NBA Summer League for a chase to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Keisei Tominaga has been named to Japan’s Pre-Olympic Training Camp roster.

Robin Washut of Husker Online has reported that Tominaga will not participate in the NBA Summer League. He will instead focus on making Japan’s 2024 Summer Olympic roster for the upcoming Paris Games and plans to earn an NBA offer after the Games.

Tominaga has Olympic experience. He previously represented his country at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 3×3 basketball and led the team in scoring with 6.9 points per game.

Basketball for the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place from July 27 to August 11, 2024.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Jayson Tatum officially announced as member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team

Jayson Tatum will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games, USA Basketball officially revealed on Wednesday.

The United States officially revealed its 2024 men’s basketball team on Wednesday morning, and former Duke star Jayson Tatum grabbed one of the 12 spots.

The idea that Tatum would make the team was by no means groundbreaking, as reports began to circulate about his spot on the team more than a day before the roster reveal. However, the social media announcement from USA Basketball made the idea official.

Tatum, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, averaged 26.9 points this season, his fourth consecutive season averaging at least 26.0 points per game, and he added 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists.

The 26-year-old has been named an All-Star in each of the past five seasons. He earned his first All-NBA First Team designation in 2022, an honor he repeated last season and seems like a contender for again in 2024.

Tatum’s Celtics, the only team with 60 wins this regular season, clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming playoffs. At 64-18, no team in the conference came within 13 games of them.

Paris will be Tatum’s second Olympic Games after he helped the United States win gold in Tokyo during the 2020 Olympics.

Michigan State basketball great Jaren Jackson Jr. named to US Basketball Olympic National Team player pool

Jaren Jackson Jr. named to US Basketball Olympic National Team player pool

This past summer, Jaren Jackson Jr. had a bit of a breakout moment on the United States National Select Basketball team, when he became arguably the star of that group on both ends of the floor. On Tuesday, USA Basketball revealed the 41-player pool they will be using to select the 12-person Olympic team, and Jaren Jackson Jr., unsurprisingly, was on that list.

The group was compiled by NCAA and NBA legend Grant Hill.

You can see all 41 members of the player pool below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

24 national hoops teams who will compete for the final 4 spots in the 2024 Olympics

Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo need these tournaments to make the Olympics.

Only 12 national teams will compete to win basketball gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and we already know eight of the competitors.

24 teams, however, are eligible to compete for the final four spots in the tournament. The following teams, many of which qualified based on their play at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, will be divided into four groups of six at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.

Each tournament will be hosted by one of the six participating national federations. Each continent is expected to host one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

The winner of each of these four tournaments will join the eight teams that have already qualified, including the USA and Canada, at the Paris Olympics.

Some of the national teams with the most medals in Olympic basketball history (e.g. Spain, Brazil, Lithuania and Italy) are among those who will have to fight for a spot in Paris.

Several notable players (e.g. Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis) will need to use this tournament to advance as well.

The Bahamas had a super fun celebration after winning an Olympic basketball qualifying tournament

This was HISTORIC for the Bahamas.

Although the Bahamas did not qualify for the FIBA World Cup, the national team just went on a wildly impressive stretch of play.

The team played four games in a FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament over the course of the last week. Despite a low world ranking (56) in FIBA, they won four games in a row, including two shocking wins over Argentina (ranked fourth in the world) while playing at Estadio Ciudad in Santiago del Estero, Argentina

By winning this tournament, the Bahamian national team can make a bid for the 2024 Olympics in France at the FIBA ​​Olympic Qualifying Tournaments next year.

The Bahamian national basketball team has never competed in the Olympics, so this was obviously exciting and the joy was palpable:

The Bahamas were led by Phoenix Suns teammates Deandre Ayton (15.5 ppg, 13.8 rpg and 1.3 spg) and Eric Gordon (20.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg). Gordon finished with 27 points while shooting 6-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Pacers wing Buddy Hield (19.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.3 spg) also played a massive role during the four-game tournament as well.

This was a huge step in the right direction for the Bahamas, coached by Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco. We wish we could see how they would fare in the upcoming FIBA World Cup!

[lawrence-related id=2121176,2120439,2114907,2077263]