Idrissi looking ahead of Morocco future

ESSAOUIRA (AfroBasket 2015) - Morocco have yet to face Algeria and Libya in the FIBA Africa Zone 1 qualifier for AfroBasket 2015, but already star forward Younes Idrissi feels the team can do more than qualify for next summer's continental championship.

Idrissi, who currently plays for Moroccan side ASE Essaouira, insists the country is a top team in the making if its talented group of players is given the correct management.

"With the players that we currently have, we can become a top-four team on the African continent," he told FIBA.com.

"We just need the right people in the right place."

The Zone 1 qualifier's schedule is yet to be confirmed, but until the moment comes, Idrissi and the rest of the national team can only wait for news from the Royal Moroccan Basketball Federation, which is expected to confirm the men's naitonal team new head coach.

Hassan Hachad, who coached Morocco to an eighth-place finish at AfroBasket 2013, might not continue with the team and is expected to be replaced by former Cameroon play-caller Lazare Adingono, currently in charge of Angolan side Petro de Luanda.

The Cameroonian made his name across the continent following his tenure of his country's national side as well as achieving a third-place finish with Moroccan side AS Sale at the 2011 African Clubs Cup.

"I was looking forward to working with him in the national team because I have worked with him during my time at AS Sale. There I realised how hard working and dedicated he is," Idrissi said of Adingono.

Tunisia, the hosts of AfroBasket 2015, are the only Zone 1 team already qualified. Two more teams from that group will qualify for the continental championship.

"Right now I am not concerned about Algeria," said Idrissi. "They are a good team. (But) I am concerned about us.

"People might not realise the sacrifices that we have been through like, not being paid, playing without insurance...etc

"We have no idea when we'll get together to prepare the national team for the qualifier."

The field for FIBA Africa's flagship event currently consists of Tunisia, reigning champions Angola, Egypt and Uganda.

Morocco last stepped onto the podium of the championship back in 1980, when the country hosted the event in its capital of Rabat.

The team has been competitive in the time since, but reaching the Semi-Finals, which for a while seemed a mirage, could be an achievable goal according to Idrissi.

"There are good signs. The national championship started early this season, on 10 October, and the federation seems to be keen to make us play," he explained.

The former University of Georgia player has reasons to be optimistic for the future of his national team because of the immense potential of players such as Abdelhakim Zouita, Reda Ali Harras and Abdlelali Lahraichi who represented Morocco at last year's AfroBasket in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire.

"Harras needs to put some weight on, but he is very athletic and could do a lot better for us," Idrissi asserted.

The 30-year-old, who averaged 15.9 points and 5.5 rebounds at AfroBasket 2013, has experienced enough of the global basketball landscape to offer these types of assessments of players.

He had played just a few years of basketball when he received an invitation to take part in the inaugural Basketball without Borders (BWB) Africa camp in 2003.

He did so well that life was never the same again.

"I could not believe when NBA coaches and scouts came to talk to me, encouraging me to keep working. Eventually I got a scholarship in the USA," he recalled.

Idrissi, who attacks the basket with ferocity, played two years under form University of Georgia coach Denis Felton, but missed one entire season due to eligibility issues.

"It was a great experience, especially when I look back and see that some of the guys that I played against like Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls), David Lee (Golden State Warriors), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks) and Corey Brewer (Minnesota Timberwolves) are doing well in the NBA."

Idrissi - described during his introduction at Georgia by coach Felton as "very talented, athletic, versatile, who can score in the post, and can also handle the ball and score with range facing the basket" - did not make it to the NBA.

Instead he has put together a very successful career playing in professional leagues in the Middle East including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Now, he is committed to his national team.

FIBA