EGY - Oraby at center of attention

CAIRO (NCAA/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Omar Oraby is one of the players that Egypt head coach Amr Aboul Kheir believes could play a key role in the future of the men's national team.

Although the 2.18m center has not yet publicly committed to represent Egypt at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he has recently showed that he could improve Egypt at both ends of the floor.

What makes the 22-year-old a potential fit for his national team is that in a year when the country returns to FIBA's flagship event for the first time since 1994, Oraby is currently making waves in the US collegiate ranks, particularly in the Pac-12 Conference, where he is second in blocked shots with 2.61 swats per game.

In his senior year at the University of Southern California (USC), Oraby is averaging 8.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting a staggering 60 per cent from the floor.

His coach at USC, Andy Enfield, recently admitted that Oraby is under the radar of NBA scouts, and explained that the big man has the size and the touch.

"The question is how productive will he be for the rest of this season, and how much will he improve. He still has a lot to prove," he said.

"He has such good footwork and touch around the basket, but occasionally he lets a defender off the hook by not being as aggressive as he should.

"We're still teaching him that he's leaving points and rebounds on the floor."

Oraby last played for his native country at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand, where they faced a star-studded USA team that included Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson, Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward and a Donatas Motiejunas-led Lithuania.

Egypt qualified for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup after finishing second at AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan. Cote d'Ivoire, where Assem Marei - who plays for Minnesota State University - was rated as the tournament's revelation.

FIBA