We continue our five-part scouting series for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Philippines with Senegal, one of the three teams in Group A.
SENEGAL
FIBA Ranking: 31
Head Coach: Cheikh Sarr
How They Got Here
Senegal finished fourth in the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket Championship. The team lost to eventual gold medal winners Nigeria in the semi-finals, before losing to host Tunisia in the third-place battle. Since only one Olympic spot was at stake for the continent of Africa, Senegal will have to earn their ticket to Rio the hard way.
Senegal are trying to book only their fourth trip to the Olympic games, and they will have to do it with a different core this time around given the absence of their veterans.
How They Play
Senegal played with a deliberate pace during the 2015 AfroBasket. The team had the third-best offens in the tournament, and the second-best field goal percentage.
With a top-calibre talent in Gorgui Dieng, Senegal simply fed their big man with touches from everywhere on the court. Dieng has the ability to knock down jumpers and drive, so Senegal gave him the freedom to take charge. Dieng led the squad in scoring and rebounding, with averages of 22.9 PPG and 14.9 RPG.
Senegal also had a premium playmaker in Xane Dalmeida, who averaged 9.1 PPG and 7.4 APG. Dalmeida took care of the facilitating duties for the team. Aside from him, however, passing and ball movement aren’t strengths for the team.
Without that many shot creators, Sarr had a conservative rotation, usually giving only seven or eight players regular minutes. Dalmeida, Dieng, Maleye Ndoye, and Antoine Mendy all averaged over 30 minutes per contest for Senegal during the 2015 AfroBasket, and took care of most of the load.
That system, however, may have problems working against deeply-talented Canadian and Turkish teams in the Manila OQT.
Additions/Returnees, Losses, Projected Rotation
Senegal will miss the services of NBA veteran Gorgui Dieng (FIBA.com)
The bad news for Senegal is that they will be without Dieng, Dalmeida, and Muhammed Faye in the Manila OQT. They will have returning Hamady Ndiaye though, who suited for the team in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Forward Mendy was Senegal’s second leading scorer last year with over 16 points per contest, and the squad’s most reliable three-point shooter (35.8 percent). Expect him and Ndoye, a regular starter from last year, to get heavy usage rates for Senegal.
Ndiaye and Chiekh Mbodj are expected to take the frontcourt role of Dieng, while Ibrahima Thomas, Thierno Niang, and Maurice Ndour should see minutes off the bench for Sarr.
Outlook
The African side is the underdog of Group A, which includes Canada and Turkey. An upset against either one of those teams, though, will put Senegal in a good position to advance. However, it will be very difficult to make it to Rio given the opposition they’re facing.
