VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - Roeland Schaftenaar is not a household name.

Unless you a hardcore fan of Dutch basketball, an Oregon State Beaver, a Spanish basketball anorak or a supporter of Greek top flight side Rethymno Agean (AGOR), you probably don't know of him.

Schaftenaar is a good player, though, and also a very good story.

A 26-year-old power forward from Utrecht, the Netherlands, Schaftenaar arrived at last summer's Dutch national team training camp ahead of the 2nd Qualification Round for EuroBasket 2015 following a fourth professional season of playing in the Spanish second division.

After four years at OSU, he spent a couple of years on the books of La Palma and two more at Breogan.

His only previous appearance in a competitive international for the senior team had been in August of 2011 when he played three minutes in a win over Luxembourg in the old EuroBasket Division B.

Last summer, the Dutch were missing a couple of key players in injured duo Kees Akerboom and Henk Norel, and expectations were not soaring.

So what happened?

Schaftenaar made the team and averaged more than 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

He also had a terrific performance on 27 August in a 68-55 triumph over Montenegro that lifted the Netherlands into a EuroBasket Final Round for the first time since 1989.

The Dutch were suddenly a long way away from the controversy that engulfed them in 2013, when they had wins in the 1st Qualification Round over Estonia and Portugal wiped off the board after being found to have used two naturalized players in each game (teams are allowed just one naturalized player in a game).

The summer of 2014 has left everyone in the Netherlands national team set-up full of happiness.

"We just tried to do the best we could," Schaftenaar told me this week.

"Before the last qualification, we had no idea we could win all games or no games."

"So for all the guys who were playing, we were super happy to be a part of it."

So the Netherlands, for the first time in 26 years, are going to play in a European Championship.

What made last summer all the more impressive was seeing how they could have cracked but did not.

In their penultimate game, the Dutch crashed to an 83-60 defeat to Israel.

That meant their next game against Montenegro, three days later in Leiden, would be a do-or-die for both sides.

The coach of the Netherlands, Toon van Helfteren, did not panic.

He did not allow his players too, either.

"He was really good at keeping us focused, keeping us together as a group," Schaftenaar said.

"He is a very experienced coach and has the most caps as a player in Dutch national team history."

After the loss to Israel, one in which Schaftenaar played just five minutes and did not score, the Netherlands returned home.

Schaftenaar, who had poured in 18 points in the first meeting in Podgorica on 17 August and led the Netherlands to a 65-60 upset of Montenegro, had another big outing with 14 points and eight rebounds and helped fire his team to a 13-point triumph.

The Dutch will play in September's EuroBasket in Group C, in Zagreb, against Croatia, Slovenia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD), Georgia and Greece.

Since the successful qualification camp, there have been some highs and lows for Schaftenaar.

He had to miss some games after having an eye operation but has returned to the court and been very good for Rethymno Agean in Greece.

Looking ahead to EuroBasket, the Dutch appear have a hard draw.

Still, Van Helfteren would appear to be the ideal coach to have in a situation like this.

He will keep his players focused, but also allow them to have fun.

"He an be really intense but also crack a joke at times," Schaftenaar said.

As for the opposition?

"They have all been to way more EuroBaskets than we have," he said. 

"They're all very good teams. 

"But we're going to do our best and if we play solid defense, we'll have a chance."

The Netherlands players are all on a journey right now.

They are with their clubs but to a man, each one has an eye on the EuroBasket.

Everyone will want to play.

Because of a lack of exposure and no participation in EuroBaskets dating back to 1989, this could be an advantage for them.

They will be the unknowns. 

It is certainly going to be an exciting year for Dutch basketball.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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