THE FLATS – Will Jose Alvarado join the Puerto Rico national team attempting to qualify for the Olympics this summer? … Marcus Georges-Hunt and Kuwait Club face deciding game 3 in WASL-Gulf League Final … Moses Wright shining in Turkish League playoffs … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
ALVARADO TO REPRESENT PUERTO RICO THIS SUMMER?
The number 16 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, is nine-time Olympic participant, Puerto Rico. The Americas side finished fourth at the 1964 Olympics but have not reached the Games since 2004.
Puerto Rico headed to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 hoping to reach at least the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2002. The Americas side opened the tournament with an exciting 101-96 victory over debutant South Sudan. Puerto Rico were battered by 17 points in the second game against Serbia before finishing the opening group stage with an 18-point win over China.
In the Second Round, Puerto Rico prevailed in a battle with rivals Dominican Republic 102-97 to start the group. But Puerto Rico could not come up with a win over Italy in the final group game, losing 73-57 to miss out on the Quarter-Finals.
They ended up taking 12th place which qualified them for the OQTs as one of the best 16 remaining teams that did not advance directly to the Summer Olympics.
Puerto Rico last played at the Olympics in 2004 as they haven’t been able to get through the OQTs since then.
José Alvarado (PG 6’0″) is more than welcome to represent the island! 🏀🇵🇷💪 #NBA #NewOrleans #Pelicans #TeamPUR #FIBA https://t.co/yO5r8CfNRK
— Pu🇵🇷rto Rican Basketball Radar 📡 (@Auto1974) May 1, 2024
GEORGES-HUNT AND KUWAIT CLUB MOVE TO GAME 3 IN WASL-GULF LEAGUE FINAL
Marcus Georges-Hunt and his Kuwait Club lost game 2 of the FIBA WASL-Gulf League season final Monday night, 77-73, to Manama, forcing a deciding game 3 in the series.
Manama regained control in the third quarter as they took advantage of Kuwait Club losing Hamad Hasan due to foul trouble, and appeared to be cruising to the victory when they built a 70-56 lead with less than seven minutes remaining in the game.
Moh Hasan, however, spearheaded an uprising, nailing a quartet of three-pointers in a 16-4 retaliation to pull his side to within just a point, 73-72, with 1:28 to go.
Kuwait Club pulled off a big stop on the other end after that by blocking Ebanks, and Marcus Georges-Hunt took it strong to the cup moments later and got fouled with 54.1 seconds left, giving themselves the opportunity to retake the lead as he was sent to the charity stripe.
The veteran winger, however, made just one of his two shots and only tied the game at 73-all. They did prevent Haji from having a good look on the basket but they couldn’t capitalize, with Mohamed Ameer forcing Georges-Hunt to an airball which Ebanks hauled down.
That proved to be the beginning of the end for Kuwait Club as Ebanks went on to give Manama the lead for good, and with Pointer whamming the nail in the coffin to seal the triumph.
“The shot felt good. It rattled in, as you can see, and it came out. Not gonna beat myself up. We got a Game Three,” said Georges-Hunt.
From FIBA Basketball
WRIGHT AND OLYMPIACOS IN TURKISH LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
On a night when Olympiacos Piraeus’s bench players outscored the starters 54-26, the Greek side still came up short to FC Barcelona as it lost 80-82 in overtime in Game 3 of their best-of-five series in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.
Big men Filip Petrusev and Moses Wright were the two main contributors off the bench for the Reds, combining for 34 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. For Petrusev, he had his best scoring night since joining Olympiacos in a mid-season transfer, netting 18 points, while Wright’s energy certainly made up for the absence of Nikola Milutinov, who didn’t see a second on the floor.
The majority of Wright’s points came in a fruitful second quarter as he scored 11 points to help Olympiacos turn a 13-13 score at the end of the first period into a 37-32 lead at the break. Petrusev, meanwhile, had 8 points at halftime. Olympiacos was not getting much out of its starters, so the impact of Petrusev and Wright was definitely a big plus.
Both Wright and Petrusev got limited game time in the third, albeit the American was able to tack on two more points to his tally, but they were at the fore of everything good for the Reds in the fourth as Barcelona mounted a comeback on the back of impressive three-point shooting. In overtime, however, things didn’t quite go to plan for the two bench players as their impact faded and Barcelona managed to secure an 80-82 win after Jabari Parker went 2 for 3 from the line with 0.5 seconds to go.
From Euroleague Basketball
#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Year 3️⃣ in the league ✔️
🔘 Hit 𝟏𝐊 career points
🔘 𝟓𝟎+ steals for the third straight year
🔘 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 in 3P%
🔘 𝟐.𝟗 AST/TO@AlvaradoJose15 | #ProJackets 🐝pic.twitter.com/J4FbbXOFiV— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) April 30, 2024
“It’s playoff basketball!”
Jose Alvarado brought playoff intensity to the Pelicans during Game 2 in OKC 🔊#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/V77YtCfFuU
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2024
Josh Okogie was assessed for a flagrant 2 on this play!
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/CUwqn3Nd7M
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 27, 2024
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Georgia Tech Eurobasket Report
Yellow Jackets currently playing pro basketball
Moses Wright (6’9”-C-1998, played in 2017-21, plays pro in Greece) could not help one of league’s weakest teams Olympiacos (22-12) in their game last Tuesday. Despite his very good performance Olympiacos was edged82-80 at home by the higher-ranked FC Barcelona (#4). Wright was the second best scorer with 16 points. He also added 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. This season Wright averages 9.1ppg, 2.9rpg and 1.1spg.
Khalid Moore (6’7”-F-2000, played in 2018-22, plays in Greece) led Lavrio to an easy victory against the sixth-ranked Apollon Patras (4-23) crushing them 104-66 in the Greek GBL in Saturday night’s game. Moore scored 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, passed 3 assists and added 2 blocks. GS Lavrio Aegean Cargo (10-17) is placed fourth in Losers Stage group. The Second Stage already ended. It’s Moore’s first season with the team. He has relatively good stats this year 10.4ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.3apg and 1.1spg in 27 games he played so far.
Brandon Alston (6’5”-G-1995, played in 2017-19, currently in Estonia), who plays in the Estonian KML was not able to help Parnu (1-0) in their game last Wednesday. Despite his good performance Parnu was edged80-79 on the road by the one of league’s weakest teams Keila (#8). Alston recorded 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 34 minutes. This season Alston averages 5.8ppg, 2.8rpg and 2.3apg.
Ben Lammers (6’10”-C-1995, played in 2014-18, plays pro in Spain) managed to help Draemland Gran Canaria in a victory against the closely-ranked Joventut (0-3) 97-79 in the Spanish Liga Endesa on Saturday night. Lammers recorded only 2 points and blocked 2 blocks. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Draemland Gran Canaria (20-11) is placed fourth in the Liga Endesa. It was his team’s third consecutive victory in a row. There are only three games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. It’s Lammers’ first season with the team. This year he averages 7.5ppg, 3.6rpg and 1.3bpg in 31 games.
Josh Okogie (6’4”-G-1998, played in 2016-18, plays in the NBA) was not able to secure a victory for the Phoenix Suns (49-33) in their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26) in the NBA. He scored 8 points in only 10 minutes. The Phoenix Suns (49-33) were badly defeated126-109 in Minnesota by the Timberwolves. This season Okogie averages 4.5ppg and 2.5rpg. He is a naturalized Nigerian.Josh Heath (6’1”-PG-1994, played in 2014-17, currently in Belgium) was the major contributor in a 2-point Spirou Basket Charleroi’s victory against the eighth-ranked Groningen 76-74 in the BNXT League last Friday. He scored 11 points and added 5 assists (was perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line). This year Heath averages 8.7ppg, 2.3rpg, 4.4apg and 1.2spg in 28 games.Avi Schafer (6’9”-C-1998, played in 2017-19, plays pro in Japan) contributed to a SeaHorses Mikawa’s victory against the fifth-ranked Ballooners 73-65 in the Japanese B1 League on Saturday night. Schafer recorded 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 23 minutes. This season Schafer averages 2.9ppg and 3.4rpg. He is a naturalized Japanese.
Jose Alvarado (6’0”-PG-1998, played in 2017-16, plays in the NBA) couldn’t help the New Orleans Pelicans in their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. He cannot count Monday’s game as one of the best ones. Alvarado recorded only 2 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. His team lost 89-97 in the NBA. This year Alvarado averages 6.8ppg, 2.2rpg, 2.2apg and 1.1spg in 62 games.
Marcus Georges-Hunt (6’5”-F-1994, played in 2012-16, currently in Kuwait) led his Kuwaiti team Kuwait to a victory over the league leader Al-Manama 86-74 in the West Asia Super League last Tuesday. He was MVP of the game. Georges-Hunt recorded 20 points and had 5 steals in 25 minutes. Georges-Hunt has individually a very good season with high stats. He averages 15.3ppg, 4.8rpg, 3.4apg and 1.6spg. Georges-Hunt is a naturalized Virgin Islander.
Abdoulaye Gueye (6’9”-C-1994, played in 2014-15, plays pro in Turkey) helped Sigortam.net edge the ninth-ranked Igdir 72-71 in the Turkish TBL (second division) on Friday night. Gueye recorded 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Gueye has relatively good stats this year 11.3ppg, 6.7rpg and 1.6apg in 36 games.
Other former Georgia Tech alumni who play in pro basketball:
- Adam Smith (6’1”-PG-1992, played in 2015-16) plays for Surne Bilbao Basket in Spanish Liga Endesa
- Derrick Favors (6’10”-F-1991, played in 2009-23) plays for Windy City Bulls in the NBA G League
- Michael Devoe (6’5”-G-1999, played in 2018-22) plays for Memphis Hustle in the NBA G League
- Thaddeus Young (6’8”-F-1988, played in 2006-07) plays for Phoenix Suns in the NBA
- James Banks III (6’10”-F/C-1998, played in 2018-20) plays for Maine Celtics in the NBA G League
- Gani Lawal (6’9”-F/C-1988, played in 2007-10) plays for Bucaros de Bucaramanga in Colombian Liga Wplay
- Jordan Usher (6’7”-SF-1998, played in 2019-22) plays for Perth Wildcats in Australian NBL
- Ja’von Franklin (6’7”-F-1998, played in 2023-23) plays for Borac CA in Serbian KLS
- Trae Golden (6’3”-PG-1991, played in 2013-14) plays for Sichuan Blue Whales in Chinese CBA
- Charles Mitchell (6’8”-F/C-1993, played in 2014-16) plays for Chihuahua Dorados in Mexican LBE
The list above includes only some of alumni playing currently in pro basketball. Check complete list of Georgia Tech basketball alumni.
