The Libyan national basketball team is considered to be one of the most competitive ones in their region. That is whenever they show up and compete. Their best results include two 5th place finishes at the FIBA Africa Championship. In 2009, they were the hosts and finished at the 11th position.
Libya NBA Players:
Hiram Fuller
Also known in Libya as Hesham Ali Salem was born on May 13, 1981, in the United States. He stands at 6′ 9″ and covers the position of power forward. He played college basketball in Fresno State University, Modesto Junior College, and Wabash Valley Junior College. His NBA career was quite short as he played only four games for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2003-2004 season. He averaged 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 points per game. The only other play time he got is with the Utah Jazz. He played only six pre-season games in 2006. In 2009 he took the name of Hesham Ali Salem so he can play for Libya’s national basketball team.
Randy Holcomb
Holcomb was born August 8, 1979, in Chicago Illinois. He is 6’ 9” and played as a power forward. Before NBA, he played college basketball for both Fresno State and San Diego State. He was picked in the 2nd round of the 2002 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. However, he immediately was part of several trades among NBA teams. Eventually, he signed a short ten days contract and played only in four games for Chicago Bulls. Throughout his career as a professional basketball player, he played for various clubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. In 2009 he was offered to play for Libya’s national basketball team. He played under the name of Raed Elhamali.
Right now there are no NBA players expected to come from Libya, but hopefully in the future we will see some blue chip NCAA or NBA prospects coming from Libya.
