ANG - Yanick Moreira, a factor for Angola

DALLAS (NCAA/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Angolans are looking forward to seeing Yanick Moreira play for their men's national team, but until that moment happens, the 22-year-old is making headlines in the US collegiate ranks.

Eleven games into his NCAA career, Moreira has became a starter for Southern Methodist University (SMU) and put up some solid performances for the Mustangs - just as was expected from him - after he averaged 18.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game last season at South Plains College.

On Wednesday, the 2.11m center helped SMU extend their winning streak to four games after a 82-56 win over the University of Texas-Pan American.

Moreira, who is in his junior season, averages 10 points per game for SMU, who improved to 9-2 following Wednesday's win.

The past two summers have seen Moreira named to Angola's preliminary squads ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2012 and AfroBasket 2013, but he pulled out for academic reasons.

One of the top prospects on the Angolan basketball scene along with Edson Ndoniema, Hermenegildo dos Santos, Islando Manuel and Edmir Lucas, Moreira has represented his country at the youth level. He last featured at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.

And he might be called up again as Angola head coach Paulo Macedo is expected to revamp the team that won the country its 11th African title this past summer in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, with a squad that included six players aged 30 or older.

Moreira is among the front-runners to provide Angola with fresh legs, although few know if he will represent Angola at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Larry Brown,a legendary head coach in the NBA and NCAA who is in charge of SMU, has described the Luanda native as a key player for the Mustangs' future.

"He's going to be a factor for us," Brown said of Moreira early in the season.

"I love him because he comes to practice every day and he wants to get better. He loves to play.

"He'll immediately be able to protect the rim and rebound.

"And the thing that excites me about Yanick is he wants to be better. He handles the ball better than I remember. He can score the ball with either hand. I've just got to get him to add a go-to move in the post and he's going to be really hard to stop," he added.

Should MSU and the Angolan Basketball Federation agree on Moreira's availability, he could become a factor for Angola too.

FIBA