Musa: ''I want to be part of Bosnia and Herzegovina's national team for a long time''

SARAJEVO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - It would be wrong to suggest that Dzanan Musa, a star with Bosnia and Herzegovina's youth teams, made his name in the First Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers. To say that he enhanced his credentials, however, would be correct.

It would in fact be a massive understatement because Musa, who was just 18 years old when he played in the first couple of windows, used the Qualifiers to reveal his prodigious talent to a wider audience, something that no doubt  contributed to his being selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of June's NBA Draft .

"I ALSO LEARNED A LOT DURING THE FIRST FOUR GAMES OF THE QUALIFIERS. YOU PLAY AGAINST VERY TALENTED GUYS FROM ALL OVER THE CONTINENT, SO YOU ONLY LEARN FROM THIS KIND OF EXPERIENCE. I HAD SOME GOOD MOMENTS, AND I GAINED SOME EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT AT MY AGE."- Musa

"I saw a lot of youngsters who showcased their talent in the games of the First Round, so that is a great opportunity," he said to FIBA.basketball.

"I also learned a lot during the first four games of the Qualifiers. You play against very talented guys from all over the continent, so you only learn from this kind of experience. I had some good moments and I gained some experience, which is very important at my age. I always enjoy representing my country and I want to be part of the national team for a long time."

Musa was so good that he left many believing he'd been the best player on the court in three of the games he played in.

In the first one, an 81-76 home triumph over Russia in November, Musa poured in 18 points. In the second window, Musa had 16 points and 5 rebounds as Bosnia and Herzegovina came from behind at home and stunned Belgium, 72-70. Even in a 70-53 defeat at Russia, he stood out. He drilled 5 of 9 three-point attempts and finished with a game-high 26 points.

Now that Bosnia and Herzegovina are warming up for their first game of the Second Round at Finland on September 13, it's not surprising that a lot of the attention is on the 29th pick in the Draft, with Musa having signed a multi-year contract with Brooklyn.

For his part, the teenager is always excited put on the national team shirt.

"When I play for the national team, I do two of the things that I love the most, which is playing basketball and representing my country," he said.

"I have had a lot of attention on me since a young age. I don't mind it because I play basketball, and when I do, I'm just focused on the court and on trying to win. I will never forget my first cap with the senior national team and I'm excited for the future because we all want to help Bosnia and Herzegovina’s senior national team grow.

"We have a lot of talented guys and I want to be part of this project for many years. I did win a medal with the youth national team and I dream of winning medals with the senior national team too."

"THE COMPETITION FOR THE FIRST THREE SPOTS OF THE GROUP IS GOING TO BE INTENSE, BUT WE WANT TO KEEP FIGHTING AND SEE HOW IT GOES, TRYING TO FINISH IN THOSE SPOTS."- Musa

Another huge talent, both literally and figuratively, is giant center Jusuf Nurkic. The Portland Trail Blazers pivot and Musa will provide a mean one-two punch when they're on the court together.

Musa says, despite having only turned 19 in May, that he's ready to have a major role in the national side and for a long time.

"I'm ready to have responsibility and help my country be back on the basketball map," he said. "We have a great history of basketball, a lot of players helped this sport grow in our country and it's a source of pride for me to be one of the flag bearers of our national team and our basketball.

"We all want to build a competitive team and compete on the big stages. So we're going to, myself included, keep working hard with Jusuf and every other guy of the national team to make the Bosnia and Herzegovina people proud of our performances and results at international level."

Musa would like nothing more than to play in next year's 32-team World Cup in China. To do so, the country has to finish in the top three of Group K in the Second Round.

"That would be a dream come true," he said. "I know the journey and the campaign to qualify for a spot at China 2019 is still very long, but we're going to try as hard as we can to get there.

"The competition for the first three spots of the group is going to be intense but we want to keep fighting and see how it goes and try to finish in those spots. Each game left has to be played as if it was the most important one and we're going to give our best to try to make this dream come true.

"I want to play against the best players and teams in the world and wear the national team jersey when doing that. So qualifying to China 2019 would be an amazing achievement for Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball."

FIBA