Yanick Moreira (ANG)
17/03/2015
News
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Moreira goes from Spain 2014 to March Madness

DALLAS (FIBA Basketball World Cup/NCAA/AfroBasket 2015) - One of the encouraging aspects for Angola's 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign was the play of big man Yanick Moreira.

The African giants did not advance from Group D, but they did get victories over Korea and Australia and the 2.11m Moreira had solid performances in each of the wins.

He ended up leading the team with averages of 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds.

The 23-year-old Moreira has used the tournament as a platform to have a terrific season in American college basketball at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he plays for former USA coach Larry Brown.

Moreira has been a key figure for the Mustangs, helping them knock off defending NCAA champions Connecticut in the American Athletic Conference (ACC) Final to clinch an automatic berth for the NCAA Tournament.

In their first game of March Madness, SMU will take on UCLA in the South Region on Thursday.

While he averages more than 11 points per game, Moreira's biggest impact is on the defense end.

"He's as good a defender as there is, a big defender, in college basketball," Brown said.

"He might not be a great shot blocker right now, but in terms of guarding his position and helping everybody else, he's a great team defender and he's really bright. He's been terrific."

That is high praise from one of the most famous coaches in the business.

Moreira, who transferred to SMU from South Plains College in 2013, had a difficult first year after injuring his knee.

Last summer, his fortunes changed when he logged a lot of minutes for Angola in Gran Canaria.

Obviously playing on the national team helped him a lot and [he] got confidence - Brown

"It's not easy for junior college kids ...," Brown said.

"He was playing great early [in 2013-14 season] and then he hurt his knee.

"We started playing good when he was hurt so he really didn't get the time he deserved.

"But he came back from the World Championships [World Cup] with an unbelievable attitude."

Over the weekend, Moreira got to cut down the nets after his team's win over UConn in the AAC Final.

Markus Kennedy is another of the SMU big men.

He knew last autumn that Moreira was going to have a successful season.

"Oh man, from the first practice to today he's a totally different person," Kennedy said.

"Mentally, physically, everything about Yanick has changed. 'He did a complete 360. He's made everybody else better. Lots of our success, you've got to give it to Yanick."

Moreira was named the AAC's Most Improved Player and also earned a place on the All-Conference team.

After this season, Moreira will be expected to link up with Angola's national team again when it plays at AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia.

Should they defend their title, Angola will claim a spot at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

FIBA