SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - The Mexican basketball national team arrived in San Juan at a crossroads, with a core group of veterans still holding down the fort and at least a pair of supremely talented teenagers waiting in the wings.
Head coach Omar Quintero called up 17-year-old forward Karim Lopez and 15-year-old big man Adrien Isaac Porras, the cream of the crop of the next generation of Mexican talent.
"It's the generational change that we needed right away in Mexico and we're doing it," Quintero said. "Obviously we have experienced players and I think that combination gives us good results."
Porras made history during Tuesday night's opener against Lithuania, becoming the youngest player in the history of FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments -- a record that was previously held by Dominican star Karl-Anthony Towns.
"It definitely feels amazing being able to show my family I can really do this and having that name on the back of my jersey," Porras said. "I'm carrying the legacy of my family. Some of them came from nothing so being a young kid and being able to do this is a great experience."
Quintero emphasized the importance of having long, athletic and versatile players in the frontcourt, especially when they're as young and talented as this duo.
"They're both top prospects," Quintero said. "Karim is No. 1 in Europe for players born in 2007 and Adrien is highly ranked in the U.S. and has received offers from Kansas, North Carolina and Duke. We were able to get him under the rules, to get his passport before he turned 16. We're working on gathering all the talent possible and Paul (Stoll), Gabriel Giron and Pako Cruz have been great, positive leaders who are showing the young ones what it's like to play for the national team."
I want to push these guys in a way where they can dream and believe in bigger things
At 38-years-old, Stoll is still the undisputed leader of the team and understands the importance not only of setting a good example, but also encouraging the young guns to achieve levels even he wasn't able to reach.
"I want to push these guys in a way where they can dream and believe in bigger things and bigger stuff because that's what I always did," he said. "I never made the NBA but that was always the top goal."
Being more than twice their age, the veteran point guard has plenty of advice to dish out.
"I talk to Karim a lot and just try to keep him going because I played with his dad (Jesus "Chino" Lopez) on the national team and in the professional league," he said. "So that's kind of like special for me where I want to see him make it. That's what I tell him every day. The NBA, you know, you gotta manifest it, you have to put that in the universe."
"It's a good process because having veterans like these can help us a lot," Lopez said. "They're helping us with the understanding of the game and how to handle things off the court."
Lopez also became the fourth youngest player in the modern OQT era, making his own debut at a younger age than Alperen Sengun (Türkiye) and Bruno Fernando (Angola), among many others.
Coach Quintero even volunteered him as a candidate for breakout player of the tournament.
"He's already in the 8, 9-man rotation," he said. "He averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds in the exhibition games, and at 17-years-old that's no small feat. He earned it, we didn't gift it to him. He was with us during the window and didn't play a single minute in either game but we wanted him to see and gain the experience. And now he's more of a rotation play. He's a prototype we don't have: 6ft 8in (2.03m), athleticism, a 7-foot wingspan and being able to play 2-4."
Quintero mentioned how Joshua Ibarra and Giron were assigned to mentor Porras and Lopez, respectively. The youngsters are trying to soak it all in.
"It's definitely cool just being the young kid trying to take everything in at once, trying to learn from Josh, especially just him being a big, big man on Mexico, but definitely grateful to be able to be around all these pros," Porras said.
In the short term, the goal remains the same. Mexico must beat Côte d'Ivoire on Thursday to advance to the Semi-Finals, where they'd be two games away from Mexico's first Olympic berth since 1976.
I think we have the potential to do big things in the future.
But what's coming might be even more exciting.
"I see a brilliant future," Lopez said. "I think we have the potential to do big things in the future. I believe we have sufficient talent plus other players who aren't here."
According to Stoll, it's all a matter of confidence and self-belief.
"If they don't believe, I'm going to make them believe and get that type of feeling where they say, 'I can do that, man. This guy thinks I can do it. Why can't I?' That's half of it. That’s half the battle."
FIBA