ISTANBUL (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - It can be a gamble for a national team to include a naturalized player that has a loose connection to the country. Such a move can go badly wrong.

Tunisia figured combo-guard Michael Roll was a safe bet, though. They figured he'd be an asset at AfroBasket 2015, and so it proved to be. A talented player that loves basketball and enjoys being part of a team is never a bad addition. Roll, a native of California, proved to be a great fit.

I think it's very difficult for Americans to adapt (overseas) but for me, the style that I play, is unselfish. I look to get others involved so that alone on the court helps them accept me off the court which has a snowball effect. I was with them for six or seven weeks prior to the AfroBasket and we became friends. It wasn't like, 'Oh, this American guy is coming in and trying to steal one of our spots.' We had fun. - Roll

Roll helped Tunisia reach the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) field with a third-place finish. A Turkish league all-star in 2015-16 with Demir IBB, Roll says he enjoyed the entire Tunisia experience.

"Teammates took me around Tunisia and I got to see how they live," he said. "They wanted to know about my experiences, so, it wasn't that I was taking anything away from them. It was just that we were all in this together and I was trying to help."

Michael Roll (TUN) faced AfroBasket 2013 MVP Carlos Morais (ANG)

Several weeks ago, Tunisia were drawn in Group B of the Turin OQT with Croatia and Italy. They could also end up facing Group A sides Greece, Mexico and Iran. Only the OQT winner will advance to the Rio de Janeiro Games. Roll saw last year's EuroBasket games and got an idea of what the competition will be like.

"Just from watching them play at the EuroBasket, I know that Italy are obviously going to be the favorite playing at home, along with Greece," the 28-year-old said to FIBA.com.

You just have to fight. As long as we win one of those two games and get into the Semi-Final, at that point, somebody gets hot, foul trouble for the other team. Anything can happen. I'm excited. - Roll

Roll's connection to Tunisia goes back to the 2011-12 season, when he and Salah Mejri were Antwerp Giants teammates. Mejri had been the AfroBasket 2011 MVP. He has since played for Spanish sides Obradoiro and Real Madrid and is now with the Dallas Mavericks.

When Tunisia coach Adel Tlatli visited Mejri while he was at Madrid, Roll, a CAI Zaragoza player at the time, met him and made a good impression. He eventually joined the Tunisian national team and played big minutes at the AfroBasket. Two of his performances stood out.

The 1.98m shooting guard had 16 points in Tunisia's 70-59 win over eventual champions Nigeria. He signed off with his tournament high of 25 in an 82-73 victory over Senegal in the Third-Place Game.

"I didn't know what basketball was in Tunisia, and I didn't know what the facilities were like, coming from California where everything is state of the art and is at your beck and call," Roll said. "When I got there, I was very happy with it. The team was fun to be around, good guys, and good basketball. The AfroBasket, I quickly learned what that was about as well. It was very unfortunate that we didn't win but it just goes to show that there was a lot of talent there."

Tunisia's title bid was over when Angola beat them in the Semi-Finals. The hosts' AfroBasket performance was viewed favorably by fans, especially as they did not have an injured Mejri in the win over Senegal. The center will figure prominently for Tunisia this summer at the OQT because of, Roll says, "his length, his agility, his shot-blocking".

"There aren't that many people in the world that are 7-2 or however tall he is (actually 7-1, 2.17m) that can run as fast as him and can move, so, he definitely has the edge over a lot of the competition."

Tunisians can't wait to see Mejri in the national team jersey again.

"He's (Mejri) proving to people that he can play (in the NBA)," Roll said. "He's a rock star in Tunisia because of this and I'm happy for him."

As for Tunisia's chances of appearing at a second straight Olympics? Qualifying for Rio is not, Roll says, mission impossible.

For us to make the Semi-Finals, or win it, which would be lofty, would be awesome. We're going to have to play well against guys who have big names when compared to most of our team, minus Salah who does.  If we play together, we have shown we can play very well. It's not that these guys (OQT opponents) are that much more ahead of us. They're the home country and they have more recognition, but it will be fun. - Roll

FIBA