By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Mouhammad Faye is not a household name in European basketball. However, the 33-year-old big man is more than well known in Greece. And as he plays for the first time in the 7Days EuroCup, the rest of the old continent is catching up.
Faye had played most of his career in Greece, so the fact that he was chosen for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade by head coach Milan Tomic, a long-time assistant with Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece, was not a surprise.
Year after year, Faye had built a reputation in Greece for his abilities and stability. He ended up playing six seasons in the Greek League for five different teams: Ikaros Kallitheas, Panelefsiniakos, Rethymno and Promitheas Patras. He was the MVP of last season’s 25th round with a 28 rating, but that was just his sixth-best performance in the Greek League.
Faye has registered a 38 rating twice, in the 2013-14 and the 2014-15 seasons; a 33 once, in the 2014-15 season, while playing with Rethymno against Panathinaikos; a 31 in the 2012-13 season with Ikaros; and a 29 in the 2014-15 season.
And while those numbers may offer an indication about his talents, there’s one specific game that explains the decision of Coach Tomic to sign Faye.
In last season’s Greek League semifinals, Olympiacos faced Faye’s former team, Promitheas Patras. The Reds were the favorites and swept the series 3-0, but Promitheas almost pulled a Game 2 upset on the road in Piraeus.
After Olympiacos won Game 1 by 37 points, 108–71, no one expected much different in Game 2. In fact, during much of Game 1’s second half, with Olympiacos ahead by more than 20 points, both teams gave minutes to their young Greek players, giving them a chance to compete in the playoffs.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Game 2 on the road ended up being Promitheas’ last stand. Olympiacos only survived with a close 89-88 win thanks to a late three-pointer by Kostas Papanikolaou.
Faye had 17 points and Casey Prather – who signed with Khimki Moscow Region during the summer – had 20 to lead an amazing effort that almost resulted in a win. It ended up with Promitheas’ players in tears for the lost chance.
Faye, who can play both as a power forward and as a center, made 4 of 8 three-pointers, grabbed 8 rebounds, and was impressive in the paint. One of his 4 threes gave to Promitheas a 77-76 lead with 5 minutes left in the game.
Milan Tomic, an icon for Olympiacos, was sitting on the opponents’ bench as the lead assistant of then-coach Giannis Sfairopoulos. Nobody knew yet what the future would bring for everyone involved in this game. However, when Tomic became the head coach of Zvezda and needed a big man, Faye’s name was on his list.
Which brings us to last week. As a 33-year-old rookie in the EuroCup, Faye had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 28 performance index rating in Zvezda’s 85-79 home win over Andorra, which gave the Serbs an unbeaten 3-0 record.
As it turns out, the game that ended with Faye’s tears last May at Peace and Friendship Stadium proved to be his tryout for a chance on the European scene.
Photo credit: Crvena Zvezda