RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - At Rio 2016, Nigeria will play in the Olympic Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive time.

Winners of AfroBasket 2015, the team will have players with experience and a bright head coach in Will Voigt as they go up against some great teams in Group B in Rio de Janeiro.

Voigt spoke to FIBA.com.

FIBA.com: Nearly a year on from the AfroBasket 2015 title success, how does this Nigeria compare to that team?
Will Voigt: We sort of looked at last summer as a stepping stone, first time in the history of the nation winning the African championship. So we've proven that we can do things that people don't expect from us.

FIBA.com: This is really a very tough group that you find yourselves in with Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Lithuania and Spain.
Will Voigt: We know it's a tough group, a daunting challenge. No African nation has ever gotten out of group play at the Olympics but we've also shown to each other that we can rise to those challenges. We've had a real challenging schedule leading up to the Olympics and I think that's actually solidified to us that we've had mixed results. Beating Argentina told us that when we're doing things the right way, we can play with these teams. So, we're hoping that it's an even better result this summer.

FIBA.com: What is this challenge like for you, matching wits with some of these coaches that have big-time resumes in international basketball like Jonas Kazlauskas of Lithuania, Sergio Scariolo of Spain, Sergio Hernandez of Argentina in Group B?
Will Voigt: These guys are juggernauts in our game. I faced Coach K (USA coach Mike Krzyzewski) in Houston before coming here. It's a challenge. Individually, it makes me a lot better. We played Argentina twice and I saw what Sergio's adjustments were to us. It's great. They really challenge you to think the game and have your counters ready.

FIBA.com: Al-Farouq Aminu's late withdrawal due to an insurance issue was a real blow for the Nigeria team.
Will Voigt: Yes it was. It was certainly avoidable. He was with us and we were waiting for the insurance payment and obviously he got frustrated by that, which is understandable. At the end of the day, it's a disappointment for everybody. I know it's not an easy decision for him. We were hopeful that once it had been paid, he would join us.

FIBA.com: Who was making the payment?
Will Voigt: It was the Nigerian government and it didn't come when he was first training with us. It did eventually come but by the time it did, the damage had been done. But we lost Ike (Diogu) before the AfroBasket last year so this is a team that has had those kinds of last minute challenges thrown at them before so you have to find a way.

FIBA