Former Flash Jay Youngblood to Compete for Lebanese National Team at FIBA Asia Championship
9/22/2015 8:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Former Kent State standout Jay Youngblood hopes to take advantage of an opportunity to punch a ticket to the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro next summer. The 2006 All-Mid-American Conference First Team honoree will compete for the Lebanese National Team at the FIBA Asia Championship beginning on Wednesday (Sept. 23) in Changsha, China.
"This is a special opportunity to me," Youngblood said in a phone interview. "Playing overseas for so long, a lot of players set a goal of getting invited to play with a national team. These are the best players in the country, and I respect all of them. It is an honor for me to play with these guys and try to help them get to the Olympics."
A nine-year professional veteran, Youngblood has played in Lebanon since 2010 and will compete in the naturalized citizen spot on the roster that each country is allotted by FIBA. Last season, he averaged 24.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists for United Byblos in the Lebanese league.
"Having played in Lebanon the last five years and winning a championship along with a Lebanese Cup, I'm pretty known out there." Youngblood said. "The fans and federation are pretty familiar with my game and what I can contribute to their success."
Youngblood made his national team debut this past June at the West Asian Basketball Association (WABA) Championship when he helped guide Lebanon to the championship and an undefeated 4-0 record. Despite his contributions at the tournament, the team decided it would go in a different direction for the Asia Championship and opt for a naturalized big man instead. When that did not work out, the team reached out to Youngblood about his services.
"When they called, I was ready because that country has showed me a lot of love," Youngblood explained. "The coach told me they decided to try to play small-ball in the tournament instead."
Lebanon, which enters the tournament 34th in the FIBA world rankings, is grouped in a pool with Chinese Tapei, Kazakhstan and Qatar for the first round. The top three teams from each group will advance to the second phase of competition. In the end, the winner will receive FIBA Asia's automatic qualification spot for the Olympics. The countries that finish second through fourth will qualify for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next summer.
"My expectations are pretty high," said Youngblood. "I can't wait to see how we compete against the best teams in Asia. It will definitely be a challenge just because of our lack of size. Our tallest player is maybe 6'9" and teams like Iran and China have players 7-foot and up. But I love a challenge, and that's what attracted me even more to this opportunity. I know we're going to go out there and compete."
Youngblood hopes to make it back-to-back Summer Olympics that the Golden Flashes are represented in men's basketball. Two-time All-MAC Nate Reinking selection competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
