Morocco rising star Harras set for fourth FIBA AfroBasket appearance as team's preparations get underway
RABAT (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - Reda Harras may only be 23 years of age but he is set to play at his fourth straight FIBA AfroBasket next month in Dakar and Tunis.
RABAT (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - Reda Harras may only be 23 years of age but he is set to play at his fourth straight FIBA AfroBasket next month in Dakar and Tunis.
The 6ft 6in (1.99m) small forward has become so influential in recent years for Morocco's men's national team that it came as no surprise when head coach Said Bouzidi named him to the 18-man preliminary squad, which opened their FIBA AfroBasket 2017 preparations last week.
| Morocco 18-player preliminary squad for FIBA AfroBasket 2017 | |||
| Mohamed Aboussalam | Sami Al Wariachi | Mohamed Choua | Ali Gaadoudi |
| Mohamed Kamal Hachad | Zakaria El Masbahi | Reda Harras | Mustapha Khalfi |
| Soufiane Kourodu | Omar Laanani | Abdelali Lahrichi | Adil Maksoud |
| Soufiane Nadim | Aderrahim Najah | Karim Nesba | Reda Rhalimi |
| John Walter Wilkins | Abdelhakim Zouita | ||
The athletic Harras made his FIBA AfroBasket debut at the tender age of 17 during the 2011 edition of the tournament in Madagascar.
Joining him in the preliminary squad is another historic figure in Morocco's recent basketball history.
Despite sitting out the tournament in 2015, 38-year-old Zakaria El Masbahi has appeared in Africa's flagship competition an impressive seven times.
The North Africans are expected to hold the second phase of their preparations in Turkey later this week, before returning home for the remaining of their training camp.
Drawn in Group B along with former African champions Angola, the Central African Republic (CAF) and Uganda, Morocco will play their Group Phase in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
If they manage to finish in the group's top two, they will advance to the Final Phase in Tunis, Tunisia.
FIBA