Global phenomenon

Not too many basketball fans know that the US has suited up naturalized players in international competitions despite thousands of home-grown cagers dying for the chance to see action for the Stars and Stripes.

Some of the naturalized players in past US lineups were Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon, Jamaica’s Pat Ewing, Romania’s Ernie Grunfeld and Panama’s Rolando Blackman.

FIBA used to allow two naturalized players for each national team with a three-year residency requirement.

But the limit was brought down to just one without a residency rule some time back.

Some prominent naturalized players in hoops are South Africa’s Steve Nash for Canada, Denmark’s Lars Hansen for Germany, Haiti’s Samuel Dalembert for Canada, Sudan’s Luol Deng for England and a slew of American “imports,” like J. R. Henderson (changed his surname to Sakuragi) and Eric McArthur for Japan, Lanard Copeland for Australia, Jackson Vroman for Lebanon, Askia Jones for Venezuela, Rasheim Wright for Jordan, Crawford Palmer for France and J. R. Holden for Russia.

Incidentally, Henderson, Jones and Copeland were once PBA imports.

University of Florida center Cliff Luyk, born in Syracuse, New York, was a pioneer American import who was naturalized to join the Spanish national team in 1965. Three years later, another American Wayne Brabender of the University of Minnesota took out Spanish citizenship and teamed with Luyk on the national squad.

Other Americans who ventured overseas to become naturalized players at least 20 years ago were University of Florida’s George Eddy for France, Davidson’s Rocky Crosswhite for Australia and University of Illinois’ Tal Brody for Israel.

In recent years, more and more Americans have been enlisted to beef up national squads. Santa Clara’s Dan Weiss made his way to Japan. Ricky Grace, Darnell Mee, Darryl McDonald and Scott Fisher went to Australia. Shawn Bradley played for Germany with Dallas Mavericks teammate Dirk Nowitzki. Colorado State’s Joe Vogel wound up in Lebanon.

The Philippines brought in Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Moore and South Alabama’s Dennis Still as naturalized players to combine forces with the likes of Hector Calma, Allan Caidic and Samboy Lim in winning the Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) crown in 1986. That was when a country could still play two naturalized players.

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Today, the Philippines is looking to replicate the experience by hiring a naturalized player. The first candidate C. J. Giles was recently cut because of behavioral problems. Jamal Sampson, a five-year NBA veteran, is now in town as a possible candidate.

South Korea has also jumped on the bandwagon, naturalizing Daniel Sandrin of Seattle Pacific and renaming him Lee Dong Jun. Half-Argentinian Kim Min Soo also plays for the Korean national team with Sandrin. There are reports that at least nine Americans are on the waiting list for naturalization to gain eligibility as Korean national players. Rumored to be in the queue are Tony Akins of Georgia Tech, Anthony Galloway of Virginia and Chris Bann of Mount St. Mary’s.

Lebanon is spending big bucks to sign up quality players willing to be naturalized. Vroman, an NBA veteran, was given his Lebanese passport after an aging Vogel got his walking papers for overstaying his welcome. Another NBA player Matt Freije is in the Lebanon roster. Brian Feghali Beshara, who played at Louisiana State, is supposedly half-Lebanese and half-American so he enjoys dual citizenship. However, under FIBA rules, a player may suit up for only one country in his basketball lifetime.

It is rumored that some Middle East countries are playing with African “imports,” more than the limit of one naturalized foreigner a team. Senegal and Somalia are often mentioned as “happy hunting grounds” for imports sneaked in as “natives” with Middle East squads.

An American who was granted Georgian citizenship by president Mikhail Saakashvili to play for the national team is Tyrone Ellis of Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Ohio. Ellis, 32, arrived in Europe in 2001 to play the game he loves and seven years later, received his Georgian passport.

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 “It’s a different experience playing for your country, not just your team,” said Ellis, quoted by Nathan Thornburgh of the New York Times. “Especially this country (Georgia), where they need positive things now. It’s hard to stay positive these days. Basketball helps. I play because I want to play. This is my family.”

Former Georgian national coach Gordon Herbert said he picked Ellis because “I knew he could get along with the Georgians – he’s got good values.” Aside from playing skills, coaches look at an import’s values as a critical factor in determining whether or not to offer a contract.

After Ellis led Georgia to a win over Luxembourg this summer, Igor Kokoskov – who succeeded Herbert – said, “I can’t imagine we would have won without him – he was our main weapon as a perimeter player and our main weapon on defense.”

Commenting on the widespread use of naturalized players, Thornburgh wrote: “National teams are eager to take advantage of a loophole that allows them one player, usually an American, who has been granted a passport to represent another country.”

American point guard J. R. Holden of Bucknell University was given his Russian passport as a naturalized citizen by then-president (now premier) Vladimir Putin in 2003. He led Russia to the European title in 2007. Holden has given up his slot on the Russian squad to a younger Kelly McCarty of Southern Mississippi. Another naturalized player Jeremiah Massey of Kansas State is playing for Macedonia.

A naturalized player has lot of responsibilities. He not only has to be one of the best players on his “adopted” national team but he also has to be an ambassador of goodwill, a role model and a symbol of sportsmanship.

Luyk, Brabender, Crosswhite, Eddy and Copeland went on to become solid citizens of their “new” countries beyond their playing days and continue to enjoy comfortable lives as respected members of the local community. Their example is an inspiration to a would-be naturalization candidate like Sampson.