Ndoye leads Senegal, Paris Levallois

PARIS (FIBA Basketball World Cup/Eurocup/AfroBasket 2015) - Senegal's Maleye Ndoye had some fine games at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The 2.03m small forward enhanced his reputation as a terrific shooter, hitting at least two three-pointers in four of his team's six games at Spain 2014.

Perhaps more important, Ndoye provided inspiration with his words.

After their Day 2 triumph over Puerto Rico, the captain told his teammates to seize the day.

With one more win, they would clinch a spot in the next phase of the competition for the first time.

The fact we made history, it's something we're going to be proud of for the rest of our lives. - Ndoye

"We're the first Senegal team ever to get out of the first round," Ndoye told FIBA.com this week.

"To beat Puerto Rico and then Croatia and to get the qualification, we had a lot of emotion in those two days and to be a part of that was special."

Senegal fell to hosts Spain in their next game, but the tournament was still deemed a success for the African country.

What the World Cup did for the Senegalese was to whet the appetite for more international basketball.

"Gorgui Dieng is the leader and the first one that wants to get back to the team," Ndoye said, "and everyone else wants to get back, too - even the coach [Cheikh Sarr]."

After we finished, because we knew how good we could be, every player made a promise to come back to try and make it work, starting with Gorgui [Dieng]. - Ndoye

So what can we expect from Senegal later this year when they gather again?

If Senegal can win the AfroBasket in Tunisia this year, they will qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

"We have talked about it," Ndoye said, "but it's a process. 

"We need to go step by step.

"We know that coming back from the World Cup, the next three years can be a huge part of Senegalese basketball history but we have to keep working hard because we are going to face some teams that are going to be motivated. 

"It’s a challenge, but we'll be ready to take it."

Ndoye is also the captain of his club team, Paris Levallois, and has been enjoying a hot streak of late.

With his team's chances of progressing in the Eurocup hanging by a thread after a 1-3 start to the Last 32, he nailed five of six shots from the arc and scored a season-high 23 points in an 88-79 win over Neptunas Klaipeda.

The week before, in fact, he had connected on five shots from long range in a narrow defeat at Pinar Karsiyaka.

The French team won at Besiktas in Istanbul, 77-71, on Wednesday night to clinch its progression to the next stage.

Sharrod Ford had 35 points and was the MVP of the Week in the Eurocup.

"It wasn't that easy going on the road but we fought hard and got the W."

Defensively, Ndoye says Paris Levallois have improved. 

"We knew at one point we had to find a way to get stops," he said.

"Even though we may not be the best one-on-one defenders, we found a way to get better, talking to each other, helping each other. The team defense is getting better."