Who are the Top 15 national team players to watch this off season in Africa?

 

ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The next two months will be hectic in the race for a place in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the high number of top class players committing to represent their countries in the Africa Qualifiers couldn't have made it more intriguing.

Windows 3 and 4 of the African Qualifiers will take place in July (1-3) and August (26-28).

The upcoming window 3 is scheduled to take place in Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Alexandria (Egypt) and Kigali (Rwanda), while the host countries of window 4, which marks the start of the 12-nation Second Round of the African Qualifiers, are yet to be confirmed.

If you wonder who the Top 15 national team players to watch this off season in Africa are, we have you covered. 

15 - Evans Ganapamo (Central Africa Republic)

SMALL FORWARD

Birth date: August 19, 1994 
Height: 200cm / 6'7"
Club: Cape Town Tigers (BAL)

Versatile with an ability to shoot from anywhere, if Ganapamo stays healthy, he could be Central African Republic's X-factor in the race for one of Group C's three tickets for the Second Round. Two months ago, in his Basketball Africa League (BAL) debut, Ganapamo showed what he's made of when a buried a three-pointer shooter with 2.2 seconds left to give Cape Town Tigers a 73-70 victory against FAP. He currently averages a team-high of 18.3 points in the African Qualifiers.

14 - Tylor Ongwae (Kenya) 

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Birth date: July 15, 1991 
Height: 200cm / 6'7"
Club: Bakken Bears (Denmark)

Tireless, cold-blooded, and a high basketball IQ are the most suitable adjectives to describe Ongwae, who sat out Kenya's three games, which, coincidently, or not, resulted in the Morans' 0-3 mark in Group D. When his team needs him to be aggressive on both ends of the floor, he usually delivers it. Ongwae is often credited for the rise of Kenya Moran's in African basketball ranks.

13 - Christian Eyenga (DR Congo) 

FORWARD

Birth date: June 22, 1989 
Height: 202cm / 6'8"
Club: Fuenlabrada (ACB - Spain)

With passages to the NBA, Basketball Champions League, G League, China's CBA, and some top leagues in Europe, Eyenga, who debuted for his country in the 2007 edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, is one of the most experienced players in the DR Congo national team. He might have missed playing for his country, but, when he got the call to return to the Leopards, he committed. Eyenga last played for the DR Congo during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in June 2018 in Cairo. Eyenga averaged 14.7 points and 7 rebounds in three games.

12 - Kuany Ngor Kuany (South Sudan) 

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Birth date: July 8, 1994 
Height: 197m / 6'5"
Club: KK Vrijednosnice Osijek (Croatia)

South Sudan are on the rise in African basketball landscape, and some of their success is attributed to the passion and determination with which Kuany delivers when he puts on that black-white-black national team jersey on. In a recent post-game press conference South Sudan Basketball President Luol Deng, who has coached his country in window 1 of the African Qualifiers was all praise to Kuany: "I know basketball and he's one of the best players I've ever coached and I take great pleasure in watching him. I think it's time people start paying attention to him," the former NBA All-Star observed.

11 - Shannon Evans (Guinea)

POINT GUARD

Birth date: July 19, 1994 
Height: 185cm / 6'1"
Club: Real Betis (ACB Spain)

Evans made his African basketball debut with a statement in November 2021. The American-born player not only holds the record for most playing time (37.6 minutes per game) in the tournament so far, but he also inspired Guinea with his scoring prowess. Evans averaged 19 points and 7.7 assists per game to help Guinea keep their Second Round aspirations alive. A terrific ball handler who can easily create shot opportunities for others, Evans perfectly fits in Guinea's rotation.

10 - Ivan Almeida (Cape Verde)

GUARD/FORWARD

Birth date: May 10, 1989 
Height: 200cm / 6'7"
Club: SL Benfica (Portugal)

Almeida has dedicated a huge deal of his career to his national team. "It means everything to me," he once said when asked about the importance of suiting up for the Blue Sharks. And he rarely shows frustration when things go wrong for him and his team. Almeida, along with his older brother Joel, and shooting guard Fidel Mendonca  are the most regular members of the team. Almeida currently averages team-highs 13.8 points, and 7.7 rebounds per game in the Africa Qualifiers.

9 - Michael Roll (Tunisia)

GUARD

Birth date: April 12, 1987  
Height: 196cm / 6'5"
Club: Karsiyaka (Turkey)

Roll's scoring ability have been providential for Tunisia time and time agin. Just take a quick look at his performances at 2021 AfroBasket, and they will tell why he is a valuable piece in Tunisia's rotation. 15.8 points, a team-high of 6 assists and an efficiency of 17.2, that's how much Roll contributed in Tunisia's third African Championship title last September. With the reigning African champions sitting in an unfamiliar territory - second place in Group B - behind South Sudan, Roll could be the go-to man in window 3.  

8 - Anas Mahmoud (Egypt)

CENTER

Birth date: May 9, 1995  
Height: 214cm / 7'0"
Club: El Ettehad (Egypt)

No wonder why Egypt head coach Roy Rana described Mahmoud as "very unique, not just for Egypt, but for basketball." The former Louisville Cardinals player has done it all in the African Qualifiers. From protecting the rim to scoring, Mahmoud leads Egypt in scoring (15.3 points ppg), rebounds (7.3 rebounds ppg) and registers the highest efficiency (16.7).  Rana observed: "A seven-footer who can handle the ball, he can pass, he can attack the rim from the perimeter, and defensively he's able to change shots; in the rim he is able to rebound, he is a very exciting young prospect and we are just happy that he is Egyptian and is with us because he has huge impact on our team."

7 - Ishmail Wainright (Uganda)

GUARD/FORWARD

Birth date: September 12, 1994  
Height: 196m / 6'5"
Club: Phoenix Suns (NBA)

In many circumstances, Uganda's attack starts and finishes with Wainright who has played a huge part in Uganda's rise in the African basketball charts in recent times. He sat out Uganda's first three games, but is preselected to make his first appearance since leading the Silverbacks to a historic sixth place finish at 2021 AfroBasket.

6 - Salah Mejri (Tunisia)

CENTER

Birth date: June 15, 1986  
Height: 217cm / 7'1"
Club: Al Jahra Club (Kuwait)

Defensively or offensively, Mejri can always make a difference for Tunisia. The MVP of the 2011 AfroBasket has been so important for Tunisia that when he sat out Tunisia's first three games, Makram Ben Romdhane admitted that with the former Dallas Mavericks player in the team things could have been totally different. Tunisia are 2-1 in the build-up to window 3 next week.

5 - Souleyman Diabate (Cote d'Ivoire)

POINT GUARD

Birth date: July 21, 1987  
Height: 183cm / 6'0"
Club: US Monastir (Tunisia)

Diabate has experienced frustration, pain and joy with his national team. Even after Cote d'Ivoire's worst AfroBasket campaign in 2017 when the Elephants recorded a 0-3 mark to finish 14th, Solo, as he is known in basketball circles, never threw the towel in. His perseverance to see his country compete at the highest level has made him an icon back home. It was from his hands that started Cote d'ivoire's historic win over Angola last November in Angola. Diabate drove to the basket, found Stephane Konate in the corner for a three-point attempt with less than 10 seconds to play, and although Konate missed it, Maxence Dadiet's tap-in sealed the 57-56 victory.

4 - Matthew Costello (Cote d'Ivoire)

POWER FORWARD

Birth date: August 5, 1993  
Height: 208cm / 6'10"
Club: Saski Baskonia (ACB Spain)

Costello only needed a few games to win the hearts of Ivorians. By the end of the 2021 AfroBasket, the former San Antonio Spurs was declared a real Elephant. Costello paced Cote d'Ivoire with team-highs of 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while propelling the former African champions to a runners-up finish. In a recent interview with FIBA.basketball, Costello revealed that he couldn't wait to play in front of their home fans when they host Angola, Central African Republic and Guinea in July. Costello was so impactful for Cote d'Ivoire in Kigali that he was named to the All-Star team.

3 - Gorgui Dieng (Senegal)

POWER FORWARD/CENTER

Birth date: January, 18, 1990  
Height: 211cm / 6'11"
Club: Atlanta Hawks NBA

There hasn't been an AfroBasket over the last seven years that Dieng hasn't made it to the All-Tournament Team. The former Louisville Cardinals standout has led Senegal to two third-place finishes (2017 and 2021) and fourth-place in 2015. And when Senegal stunned Croatia at 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain to advance to the knockout stages, Dieng was crucial also. Next week he returns for Senegal for the first time since the last edition of the African Championship last September.

2 - Makram Ben Romdhane (Tunisia)

POWER FORWARD

Birth date: March 27, 1989  
Height: 204cm / 6'8"
Club: SL Benfica (Portugal)

Tunisia's skipper Ben Romdhane is the reigning AfroBasket Most Valuable Player. He has been a regular member of the Tunisian team since his AfroBasket debut in 2011, a year Tunisia lifted their first-ever African Championship title. Since then, Ben Romdhane has done it all  for Tunisia.

1 - Walter Tavares (Cape Verde)

CENTER

Birth date: March 22, 1992  
Height: 220cm / 7'3"
Club: Real Madrid (ACB Spain)

Recently crowned ACB Finals Most Valuable Player, Tavares was clearly the most dominant player of the 2021 AfroBasket although his Cape Verde came up short to Senegal in the third-place. From protecting the basket to attacking it with indescribable ferocity, Tavares is Cape Verde's most impactful player of the moment.

Disclaimer: Players listed in this article are only speculated to be playing according to announcements from National Federations and general news but do not necessarily correspond to the rosters that will play at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 or the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers.

The list is based on the responses by the expert panel and is in no way a true, accurate ranking system.