Thread by @YPsar

Flash-back in the days when coaches of #FIBAWC National Teams were getting buckets as players
Bonus: A couple of details of their lives that you may not know (thread)

Alex Nwora of @nbbfonline was the 1st Daemen College player with over 1500 points and 1000 rebounds in career (1989-1993). Played professionally at “International All-Stars”, the opponent team of Harlem Globetrotters for one season!
#NigeriaGotGame

@nbbfonline Vincent Collet of @ffbasketball played for several French clubs.Started his career at Montvilliers were his father used to be a handyman. Besides being deaf in the right ear managed to play in the higher level and won once the French ProA League with Le Mans (1982)
#FranceGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball Thanasis Skourtopoulos of @HellenicBF started his career at Dafni Dafniou and then played for AEK Athens and Pagrati where was teammate of 4 times nominee for @TheAcademy awards film director Yorgos Lanthimos. Was a member of U16 and U18 Greek NT at mid ‘80s
#GreeceGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy Paul Henare of @TallBlacks had a 19yrs playing career with New Zealand,Serbia&Turkey teams.Participated twice at Olympic Games (2000, 2004) & WC (2002, 2006).In 2008 his 5yrs old son Jackson was involved in a lawn mower accident and lost half of his leg & foot.
#NewZealandGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks Nick Nurse of @CanBball before playing at N.Iowa college was the starting point guard on the Kuemper High School bball team and by the same time a state qualifier in pole vault, the quarterback of the football team and a starting pitcher on the baseball team
#CanadaGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball Dainius Adomaitis of @musukrepsinis played for several teams at Lithuania, Italy, Poland, France and Latvia. Used to be Euroleague (1999) and European Cup (1998) champion with Zalgiris Kaunas and won the bronze medal at 2000 Olympics with Lithuanian NT
#LithuaniaGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis Henrik Rödl of @DBB_Basketball won both NCAA title (North Carolina) & Eurobasket gold medal (1993). With Alba Berlin won 7 German League, 4 German Cup and 1 Korac Cup titles. Was the 1st ever player who debuted NT while playing for a Regionalliga team (Offenbach)
#GermanyGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball Romeo Sacchetti of @Italbasket played for 4 Italian teams and 132 times with Squadra Azzurra.Won 2 Eurobasket (Gold-1983,Bronze 1985) & Olympic Games (Silver 1980) medals.He is Romanian origin(father’s surname was Sachet) and was born in a refugees’ camp in Altamura
#ItalyGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket Ufuk Sarica of @TBF played 10 yrs with Anadolu Efes winning 5 League, 4 Cup & 1 Korac Cup titles and had a stint with Bnei Hasharon (Israel) and Siena (Italy). His father Aydin Sarica who passed away last year used to be a bball player at Eczacıbaşı Kulübü
#TurkeyGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF Sergei Bazarevich of @russiabasket played in Russia, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece and also 10 games for the 1994-95 Atlanta Hawks. Won 2 silver WC and one Eurobasket medals. In 1999 played for PAOK as a repatriated Greek who had his origins in the city of Volos!
#RussiaGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket Eddie Casiano of @fbpur was one of “Los Nenes” in Atleticos de San German men's team at the age of 15 together with Piculin Ortiz. Although was on the radar of several NCAA teams played only in the Puerto Rican league
#PuertoRicoGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur Mike Taylor of @KoszKadra played both basketball and (American) football at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Was a backup guard in IUP Bobcats hoops team and by the same time the first quarterback in the football team.
#PolandGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur @KoszKadra Gregg Popovich of @usabasketball majored in Soviet Studies and at his Air Force years as a basketball player was also operating spy satellites monitoring Soviet missile launches under a top-secret satellite control facility
#USAGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur @KoszKadra @usabasketball Aco Petrovic of @basquetebrasil famous brother of Drazen Petrovic won plenty of Olympic, WC and Eurobasket medals with ex-Yugoslavia NT. His last team was Racing Luxemburg! He is cousin of Dejan Bodiroga and his 27yrs old son Marko is playing for Gorica
#BrazilGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur @KoszKadra @usabasketball @basquetebrasil Li Nan of China NT is the only Chinese player participated in four Olympic Games basketball tournaments (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008). Played his professional career at Bayi Rockets and won 8 league titles. His nickname is Little Li Feidao
#ChinaGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur @KoszKadra @usabasketball @basquetebrasil Sasha Djordjevic of @KSSrbije at the age of 20 was member of Yugoslavia NT at Eurobasket 1987 along with Petrovic bros, Kukoc, Paspalj, Divac, Radja and Vrankovic. He is UNICEF’s ambassador in Serbia along with film director Emir Kusturica and others.
#SerbiaGotGame

@nbbfonline @ffbasketball @HellenicBF @TheAcademy @TallBlacks @CanBball @musukrepsinis @DBB_Basketball @Italbasket @TBF @russiabasket @fbpur @KoszKadra @usabasketball @basquetebrasil @KSSrbije Thanks for watching 🏀🇨🇦🇧🇷🇬🇷🇭🇷🇫🇷🇮🇹🇷🇺🇹🇷🇺🇸🇷🇴🇵🇱🇳🇬🇵🇷🇳🇿🇨🇳