DAKAR (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - US college basketball has played a big role in the growth of the game in Senegal in the past few decades and it will be no different later this summer.

When Senegal open their 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Group Phase campaign in Sevilla, the likelihood that the team will feature current and former US college players is very high.

Louis Adams was the only current college standout who helped the country clinch a third-place finish at AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

The South Carolina State point guard averaged 6.3 points and 1.6 assists per game for the national team last summer and might be an option for head coach Cheikh Sarr in Spain later this year (30 August-14 September).

Sarr, a graduate from the University of Delaware who splits his time between the national team and his physical education teacher job in Dakar, has spent the past few weeks scouting selectable players for Senegal.

He has identified 72 potential players spread around Europe, Asia, Africa and America, but will be working with 20 of them for the World Cup.

Some of them have already played for the national team, but most have never worn Senegal's green jersey, although they show a lot of potential.

College basketball's influence in the past, present and future of the game in Senegal is undeniable.

"I have been focusing only on 10 NCAA Division 1 Senegalese players in the USA," Sarr told FIBA.com.

Most of the 12 players who competed for the country at last summer's continental championship are expected to be shortlisted.

"I will be revealing names when the work is done because it is still in a state of process," Sarr explained.

The coach has been contacting players and is expecting to begin their training camp by mid-June, and Europe and Senegal are set as the ideal locations for the team's preparation ahead of their second appearance in FIBA's flagship tournament since 2006.

Gorgui Dieng would be a tremendous help in the paint area for Senegal but, like most NBA players wanting to play for their national team, he will need a player insurance.

Senegal are in Sevilla's Group B along with Argentina, Croatia, Greece, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

FIBA