JORDAN Clarkson may be the biggest name out of Utah who’ll be playing in the upcoming Fiba qualifiers, but he’s far from the only one. Three other promising young guns from the Jazz are joining him, playing in national teams all over the world.
Utah Jazz players who are part of Fiba World Cup qualifiers
In Italy, their leading scorer is Simone Fontecchio, who had just signed with the Jazz for the upcoming season. Over last year’s stints in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, he’s proven to be a reliable gunner, shooting 41.2 percent from downtown and averaging 11.8 points a game.
Italy faces Ukraine on August 24.
In the Americas, teammate Leandro Bolmaro has been playing for Argentina since he was a teenager, and was even in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Snapped up by the Knicks as the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, he landed in the Timberwolves as part of a three-team trade.
He’s been a bright light for Utah in their Las Vegas Summer League campaign, and hopes to bring that same spark to his home country when it faces Canada on August 25.
There, he’ll be facing off against fellow Jazz player Nickell Alexander-Walker. The youngster came onboard Utah after the Joe Ingles trade, but didn’t see a lot of action on the floor. Before that, he was with the New Orleans Pelicans, who also slotted him with the Erie BayHawks in the G League.
Meanwhile, there’s Jordan Clarkson, who, as we all know, will kick off his 2022 Gilas stint with a Thursday match against Lebanon.
He’s been in the country since Friday, August 19, and in his practices with the national team, has been praised by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas spokesperson Sonny Barrios as a “cut above the rest.”
“Yung lahat ng mga katabi ko na nanood ng practice, iisa lang ang komentaryo nila, 'Iba ang kilos ni Jordan,” added Barios.
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