Al-Farouq Aminu is Heading to the Olympics!

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Published: July 8, 2012

Al-Farouq Aminu and former Hornet Ike Diogu led Nigeria to an Olympic berth with an 88-73 win against the Dominican Republic.

While Ike Diogu led the the Nigerian offensive attack, Aminu and his five blocks kept Al Horford and the Dominican Republic from keeping pace on the other end. Aminu also wound up with a breakaway dunk which served as the dagger with just over a minute left, capping solid performance by the Hornets small forward.

You don’t see Aminu smile all that often, but he had a @#$% eating grin after the game that I firmly expect to see the remnants of for years to come. Watching the Nigerians celebrate was truly a pleasure, and I hope that you took my advice and watched the game. Otherwise you missed a truly magical moment that most will never fully appreciate.

The final line from Aminu was 14 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks, and at least a couple of assists (the box score won’t show up for me). He a couple more great defensive plays that won’t show up on the box score, but make no mistake– they happened!

(edit-  Check out the recap from the official FIBA site, as well as a video recap)

I said that this game was meaningful for Aminu since it was likely the most important of his career, that after a summer of practicing and training extra hard, he needed a solid performance in a crucial game to gain some confidence heading into next season. He delivered, and as a result my optimism has grown in regard to his NBA future.

While Ike was the star on offense (likely playing himself back into the minds of NBA GM’s), Aminu was the defensive MVP. Without his perimeter and interior excellence, this game would have been a lot closer.

Congratulations to Al-Farouq Aminu, the ONLY Hornet to make the Olympics. He deserves it, and we wish him the best of luck in London.

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