MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - For quite some time now, the landscape of Asian basketball has been shaped by the presence of naturalized players, and that won't change in the FIBA Asia Cup 2017.

A good number of countries are expected to bring naturalized reinforcements when they begin their campaigns at the continental tournament in Beirut, Lebanon from 8-20 August, and there is no doubt that these naturalized players will make a big impact in how the teams will fare.

The emergence of naturalized players in Asia can be traced back to the initial foray of Joe Vogel for Lebanon in the early 2000s, and their lead was followed by many other countries thereafter. Jordan famously paraded one of the best naturalized players Asia has ever seen, Rasheim Wright, while Japan initially had JR Sakuragi, and the Philippines had Marcus Douthit starting in 2011. Many other teams soon followed suit, with Chinese Taipei having Quincy Davis, Kazakhstan having Jerry Jamar Johnson and Qatar bringing in the likes of Trey Johnson, Jarvis Hayes and Boney Watson on different occasions.

Let's see which naturalized players we will probably see at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 and what kind of impact they will have for their respective national teams.

Ira Brown (Japan)
Brown debuted at the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 with aplomb, averaging a nice double-double line for Japan, and he followed that up by being their naturalized player again in the EABA Championship 2017. At only 1.93m, he is severely undersized at his position of choice - power forward - but he more than makes up for that with his tenacity and efficiency. It will be interesting to see how he matches up with the bigger Aussies and fellow naturalized player Quincy Davis in Group D if Japan Basketball Association name him in the final roster.

Quincy Davis (Chinese Taipei)
Davis has been a mainstay of Chinese Taipei's national side since the FIBA Asia Championship 2013, and, for the most part, he has been ultra effective in plugging the team's gaping hole at center. He has normed double-doubles in 4 of the 7 tournaments in which he has played, and it is noticeable how he has become a barometer of the national squad's performance. If he plays at his best, Chinese Taipei are going to be very tough to beat, as proven in their successful title run at the EABA Championship 2017.

Andray Blatche (Philippines)
Perhaps the naturalized player everyone wants to see back in action at the Asian level is none other than former NBA player, current CBA champion and recent SEABA king Andray Blatche. In terms of size, skill-set and talent, Blatche is arguably the best naturalized player in the history of FIBA Asia, but it remains to be seen if he will be available for Gilas Pilipinas this August. After a long campaign in the CBA with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and then winning the SEABA tournament in Manila, Blatche is due for some extended recovery time. Of course, if the stars align, his presence for the Filipinos will shoot their stock up in a very significant way. I mean, this is a guy who has averaged nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds in all the tournaments for which he has played as a member of the Philippine national team. He is simply a potentially unstoppable force.

Ricardo Ratliffe (Korea)
Nothing is set in stone yet when it comes to Ratliffe playing for the Koreans, but if all goes well, he should be their first ever full fledged naturalized player. I say this because all the other naturalized players Korea have had before - Lee SeungJun, Moon TaeYoung and Moon TaeJong come to mind - actually have Korean ancestry. Ratliffe seems to be worth the effort, though, given his consistently strong production in the KBL (as well as the PBA where he is currently playing) and the fact that he has been living in Korea for a handful of years already. He knows the Korean style of play very well, and chemistry should be no issue at all. He will also give the team a robust presence in the middle and should take some heat off guys like Kim JongKyu and Lee JongHyun.

Demario Mayfield (Iraq)
I would have wanted to see Kevin Galloway back for Iraq after he was superbly instrumental in helping them finish among the top 4 in last year's FIBA Asia Challenge, but those plans have fallen through. Iraq were trying to get another American, Sammy Monroe, to replace Galloway, but that did not pan out as well. Enter Mayfield, who played for 4 US NCAA schools before finally playing pro ball in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He has been the main import for Al Nift Baghdad the past two seasons, and if, indeed, he becomes Iraq's naturalized player, he will shore up their wings with his aggressive play and ability to hit the outside shot.

Among countries that are currently searching for suitable naturalized players are Jordan, Syria, Qatar and even hosts Lebanon. Their choices for naturalized players will also surely create ripples in the competitive field when the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 kicks off.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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