Ehab Aming (EGY) - Egypt v Gabon, 2015 Afrobasket , Radès (Tunisia), Group Phase, 19 August 2015
RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - There have been no moments during Egypt's games at the AfroBasket 2015 when coach Ahmed Marei relaxed.
He has snarled, shouted, pleaded, demanded and exhorted.
Yes, from the opening tip to the final buzzer, he has been the most intense man in Rades.
RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - There have been no moments during Egypt's games at the AfroBasket 2015 when coach Ahmed Marei relaxed.
He has snarled, shouted, pleaded, demanded and exhorted.
Yes, from the opening tip to the final buzzer, he has been the most intense man in Rades.
What is perhaps most telling about Marei, a man who played for Egypt's Olympic team in 1984, is his intelligence.
That is true in terms of his preparation and tactics, but also his awareness that young players, of which there are many in Egypt's squad, are good to have.
Especially when they're as talented as Ehab Amin.
If all the hype about the Egyptian basketball team that reached the Final of the AfroBasket two years ago centered on Assem Marei, the current coach's son, then the player that is causing the biggest stir in 2015 is Ehab Amin.
A guard who turned 20 just a couple of weeks ago, Amin has not just made the roster but played big minutes and also hit a deep go-ahead three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the Pharaohs' closest game, an 83-77 triumph over Cameroon.
Amin has but one year of American college basketball under his belt at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, but a lack of experience has been no impediment to his rapid ascension.
He has not only made Egypt's roster but quickly become one of the best players.
He plays suffocating, ball-hawking defense, dazzles with his dribbling and drives to the basket and runs up and down the floor on fastbreaks as fast as anyone in the tournament and also with success.
His jump-shot was supposed to be suspect, but really it's been fine.
He's shooting better than 31 percent from long range.
Amin has had a lot of fun, too.
His favorite play?
"In the game against Mali dribbling between the legs of the defender (Souarata Cisse) and then passing to Assem Marei for the dunk," he said.
Amin's overall game and athleticism is proving to be a menace for all opponents.
Were it not for coach Marei's preference to share the minutes, Amin would be among the leaders in scoring.
His rise to the senior team should come as no surprise.
At youth level with Egypt, Amin shone at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship.
"Confidence," he said to FIBA.com, when asked what had helped him made the adjustment to the senior national team.
"Helping me get my confidence first has been Ahmed Marei and second, my teammates have been key.
Way older than me, the captain of the team Ramy Gunady, 33 years old, has treated me like I'm his brother. - Amin
"So that gave me confidence to play how I play: shoot, pass and play with freedom on the court."
It's also helped that he has spent a couple of years in the United States.
Amin traveled to the United States to play high school basketball for St John's in Milwaukee and then enrolling at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
"It's way different," he said of life in Texas.
"Culture, food, people, language.
"Everyone helps me there, my coach (Willis Wilson), teammates.
"They don't make me feel like an international, an Egyptian.
"They make me feel like I'm at home - a second home."
Amin says the move to Corpus Christi, which is known as the Texas Riviera, to play for the Wilson and the Islanders has been great for his development.
"In America, what has helped me most with my development is (the focus on) fundamentals, personal trainers, weightlifting in the morning at 6am, personal trainers on dribbling, shooting," he said.
"I've changed my form and shoot quicker now.
"They work you individually and everything combines with the team."
Though he's a long way from Egypt, Amin has a good support network.
His family, including older brother and the man he calls his "second father" Sharif Amin, come to visit and watch games.
In the Quarter-Finals, Egypt face a game against defending champions Angola in a rematch of the 2013 Final.
Amin wasn't in that team but lived and died with every shot because he watched on livebasketball.tv while in the United States in Milwaukee.
Angola beat the Egyptians that day but 2015 could be different.
Amin is certainly ambitious.
He wants to keep playing and have a shot at making the Rio de Janeiro Games, something Egypt would do with a title here in Rades.
A second-, third- or fourth-place finish would punch Egypt's ticket to one of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
"That's our goal," Amin said.
"That's my first personal goal."
That is true in terms of his preparation and tactics, but also his awareness that young players, of which there are many in Egypt's squad, are good to have.
Especially when they're as talented as Ehab Amin.
If all the hype about the Egyptian basketball team that reached the Final of the AfroBasket two years ago centered on Assem Marei, the current coach's son, then the player that is causing the biggest stir in 2015 is Ehab Amin.
A guard who turned 20 just a couple of weeks ago, Amin has not just made the roster but played big minutes and also hit a deep go-ahead three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the Pharaohs' closest game, an 83-77 triumph over Cameroon.
Amin has but one year of American college basketball under his belt at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, but a lack of experience has been no impediment to his rapid ascension.
He has not only made Egypt's roster but quickly become one of the best players.
He plays suffocating, ball-hawking defense, dazzles with his dribbling and drives to the basket and runs up and down the floor on fastbreaks as fast as anyone in the tournament and also with success.
His jump-shot was supposed to be suspect, but really it's been fine.
He's shooting better than 31 percent from long range.
Amin has had a lot of fun, too.
His favorite play?
"In the game against Mali dribbling between the legs of the defender (Souarata Cisse) and then passing to Assem Marei for the dunk," he said.
Amin's overall game and athleticism is proving to be a menace for all opponents.
Were it not for coach Marei's preference to share the minutes, Amin would be among the leaders in scoring.
His rise to the senior team should come as no surprise.
At youth level with Egypt, Amin shone at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship.
"Confidence," he said to FIBA.com, when asked what had helped him made the adjustment to the senior national team.
"Helping me get my confidence first has been Ahmed Marei and second, my teammates have been key.
Way older than me, the captain of the team Ramy Gunady, 33 years old, has treated me like I'm his brother. - Amin
"So that gave me confidence to play how I play: shoot, pass and play with freedom on the court."
It's also helped that he has spent a couple of years in the United States.
Amin traveled to the United States to play high school basketball for St John's in Milwaukee and then enrolling at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
"It's way different," he said of life in Texas.
"Culture, food, people, language.
"Everyone helps me there, my coach (Willis Wilson), teammates.
"They don't make me feel like an international, an Egyptian.
"They make me feel like I'm at home - a second home."
Amin says the move to Corpus Christi, which is known as the Texas Riviera, to play for the Wilson and the Islanders has been great for his development.
"In America, what has helped me most with my development is (the focus on) fundamentals, personal trainers, weightlifting in the morning at 6am, personal trainers on dribbling, shooting," he said.
"I've changed my form and shoot quicker now.
"They work you individually and everything combines with the team."
Though he's a long way from Egypt, Amin has a good support network.
His family, including older brother and the man he calls his "second father" Sharif Amin, come to visit and watch games.
In the Quarter-Finals, Egypt face a game against defending champions Angola in a rematch of the 2013 Final.
Amin wasn't in that team but lived and died with every shot because he watched on livebasketball.tv while in the United States in Milwaukee.
Angola beat the Egyptians that day but 2015 could be different.
Amin is certainly ambitious.
He wants to keep playing and have a shot at making the Rio de Janeiro Games, something Egypt would do with a title here in Rades.
A second-, third- or fourth-place finish would punch Egypt's ticket to one of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
"That's our goal," Amin said.
"That's my first personal goal."
By: FIBA.com
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