Well-travelled Aaron Geramipoor aims to build on World Cup debut with Iran

TAIPEI (Chinese Taipei) - The path Aaron Geramipoor took leading up to stepping on the hardwood in China is hardly conventional. Still, there he was late in August making his way off the bench to join the ranks among a select few group of players ever to make it to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

“My debut with the national team of Iran this summer at the World Cup felt amazing,” Geramipoor said of the experience. “It was an honor to represent and this is just the beginning.  I’m already looking forward to the next big stage to perform on and represent.”

The 6’11” center lists his hometown as Manchester, England but has honed his craft as a young basketball player at the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain. From there, he went on to play 4 years at Seton Hall in the United States of America before embarking on a professional career that he flung him back to Spain, over to Mexico, and then over to Croatia. He even had a short 8-game stint late in 2017 in Tehran, Iran playing in the Iranian Super League.

As of this moment, he is preparing for the next chapter in his career playing in Taipei.

As mentioned above, it’s not a path many have taken. Nonetheless, there he was in China, donning a white jersey with bright red letters reading “Iran” spread across his chest ready for his World Cup debut.

“I was given a fantastic opportunity to represent Iran and play in the country where my father was born,” Geramipoor said. “I have a large number of family and friends in Iran and they were thrilled that I would be part of the national team. There was some administration and the Iranian Basketball Federation were extremely supportive during this period.”

In China, Geramipoor got the chance to go up against some of the best in the world. Whether is was Tunisia’s Salah Mejri or World Champions in Marc Gasol and the Hernangomez brothers, Geramipoor rose to the challenge and faced them straight on without backing down.

“It was a pleasure to represent my national team and compete against great teams and high level players from around the world who were doing the same thing at the event,” said Geramipoor who averaged 10.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game at the World Cup.

Not only was it a valuable opportunity to play against world class players, Geramipoor was also lucky enough to share the court as a teammate with one of the best in the business.

“Hamed [Haddadi] is a good friend of mine, on and off the court,” reveals Geramipoor. “Although he is a veteran, it’s great to play with, learn some things from him, and at the same time, have fun on the court and joke around.”

There is plenty of pressure on a player at 27 years of age making their national team debut at the biggest stage in the World Cup. For Geramipoor, he had tested and smart veterans to help him through the process.

“Hamed and Samad (Nikkah Bahrami] are, as you know, both veteran players. They’ve both helped my transition to be much smoother,” said the Team Melli rookie. “Both are great guys and good friends on and off the court. Having great players with wisdom and talent like that takes the pressure off me individually, so that collectively we can all contribute to the game.”

There is plenty of potential left to be unearthed for Geramipoor, as evidently seen from the World Cup. He’s confident of his production over that 5-game stretch and is more that ready for the next opportunity to continue showing fans what he’s made of.

“I’m a fresh face to add to the Iranian team mix and even though my minutes were limited in my first debut with the national team, my statistics were still efficient and caused problems for other teams and players.”

“I’m definitely ready to build on this performance,” he added.

Geramipoor might not have to wait too long for that moment. Iran will be playing at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers tipping off next year with their first game being on the road against Syria on February 20.

“It is another great stage to represent Iranian Basketball and I am indeed looking forward to it. It’s another opportunity to showcase my own skills and my teammates talents collectively and set out to win some games,” Geramipoor claimed.

When he eventually takes the court in the future at the Asian level, whether it is at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers or the FIBA Asia Cup itself, he will be ready to give it his all.

“You know there is a lot of talent in Asia and I’m just looking forward to play against every team,” he said while also adding that he’s not looking forward to any clash in particular.

For those who might have missed watching the up-and-coming big man at the World Cup, Geramipoor has some advice on how fans might get familiar with his play before they eventually get to see him live in action.

“I mean, this is a hard for me [to explain], so I’ll keep it simple; Check out Instagram and take a look at my page and my highlights. Even on YouTube there are some clips and that’s a short insight to my game.”

“So expect that among other things to happen when you see me play. I hope the fans who don’t know me, look forward to seeing me play after they take a look.”

 

So go over and hit up @aaron__gp on Instagram and see if you like what you see from the future of Iranian basketball. Sooner or later, you are going to hear a lot more about Aaron Geramipoor anyways.

FIBA