Baylor adds global flair to tourney.
Bears’ first-round game features 10 players born outside the U.S.
TULSA, Okla. — New Mexico State and Baylor will take March Madness all over the world.
Their NCAA Tournament game Friday will feature 10 players who were born outside of the United States. The Aggies have seven of them, and coach Paul Weir is from Toronto. France, Ivory Coast, Kenya, India, Australia, Belgium, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Canada all will be represented by birth or heritage when the teams take the court.
“It’s great,” said New Mexico State’s Johnathon Wilkins, who was born in France and grew up in Belgium. “I like the diversity on the team. It’s really interesting when you have a lot of people from a lot of different countries coming together and playing together. It’s really unique.”
Diversity grows
The NBA had a record 113 international players on opening-day rosters this season, and Weir said the college game is following. More than half the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament had at least one player from another country on their rosters at the start of the season. Saint Mary’s alone has seven Australians on its roster.
“I think basketball as a whole is becoming so much more diverse,” Weir said. “And if you look at the diversity of the NBA, I think college athletics is really quickly coming behind. The growth of not just the Canadian players, but all these different countries, has really made basketball a global game. Inevitably, that’s where basketball is headed.”
Many players said the games aren’t on television in their countries, but online access will help their families and friends keep up with March Madness.
A challenge for some foreign followers is the time difference. New Mexico State’s Tanveer Bhullar is from Toronto, but much of his family lives in India, 10½ hours away from Tulsa. Friday’s 11:40 a.m. CDT start will be at 10:10 p.m. there.
His brother — Sim Bhullar, all 7-5 and 360 pounds of him — helped New Mexico State reach the Tournament in 2013 and 2014. Little brother Tanveer (7-2, 275 pounds) said the people in India are just learning about the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s kind of difficult for them to realize how big this is,” he said. “There’s no such thing like March Madness in India. They’ve never been around anything like this. Every time I talk to my mother and my aunts back there, they can only imagine what I’m talking about.”
Seeing is believing
Baylor guard Manu Lecomte, who was born in Brussels, Belgium, said the people back home are starting to understand.
“It’s a big deal,” Lecomte said. “I know it’s a huge thing here, but over in Belgium, I know people are watching. They’re pretty excited.”
Lual- Acuil, who was born in South Sudan but grew up in Australia, said players back home watch the NCAA Tournament to get a feel for what they are striving for.
“It’s just a chance to see what most of the Australian basketball players dream of doing,” he said. “Most of them want to come here and play and get to the next level if they can. It’s kind of like a gateway for everybody else to see what kind of competition is here and the high level of basketball people play here.”