Husker junior guard Keisei Tominaga made his senior national team debut Friday, scoring a team-high 18 points in a 98-52 loss to Australia in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier in Melbourne Friday morning.
Tominanga, a 6-foot-2 guard, was the only Japanese player in double figures, has he hit 6-of-14 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers. Tominaga also added two assists and two steals in 24 minutes of work off the bench.
His shooting and general offensive potency, however, were already expected. What actually surprised Hovasse was Tominaga's defensive energy and IQ.................
For these, Hovasse believes that Tominaga's time in the US NCAA Division 1 as a member of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers has proven to be very instrumental in his growth.
"Every day he's practicing against Big Ten competition," Hovasse explained. "That's a fantastic league - defensively long and athletic, so he's getting better and better."
Japan - Keisei Tominaga, 15.2 ppg & 2.6 rbs. (41.3% three-point shooting). Tominaga was arguably one of the best youngsters at the Asia Cup and not only because of his outstanding statistical output. Yes, the 1.88M (6’2”) shooting guard averaged many points efficiently, but more than that was his display of leadership for Akatsuki Japan. In particular, when Yuta Watanabe was unable to play due to an injury, Tominaga stepped up and delivered with a 33-point explosion on 12-20 shooting, making it the most scored by a player aged 21 or younger in the 21st century.