July 6, 2011
Greenwood Looking for U-19 World Title
Lobo has averaged 13.0 points in leading Australia to 5-1 record so far in U-19 World Championships
Riga, Latvia — Riga, Latvia is lots of things. It’s the largest city in the Baltic States (that’s Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, not the property you pair with Mediterranean Avenue to get some hotels in Monopoly). It’s also low-lying, only about 3-33 feet above sea level, a far cry from Albuquerque’s mile-high altitude. It’s also ironically the focus of the attention span of Lobo basketball fans, as Riga, Latvia is the host city for the U-19 FIBA World Championships.
While many Americans are focused on the USA team, fans of Lobo basketball have their attention focused in a different direction. That direction is down under, as Lobo 2011 signee Hugh Greenwood has helped his native Australia to a 5-1 record, winning their group and advancing to the knockout round.
Greenwood has played in five games for the Emus, averaging 13.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. He has also registered 12 assists, eight steals, and two blocked shots. For the tournament, Greenwood is shooting .422 from the field (27-64), including seven three-pointers. Greenwood’s 13.0 average is third on the Aussie squad, and his seven threes ties him for second on the club.
Greenwood has scored in double-figures in all five games that he has played. He got his tournament off to a solid start with a 17-point, 5-assist effort in a 73-49 win over Argentina. He scored 10 points in only 14 minutes against Latvia in a 78-68 loss, suffering an injury, before missing a 94-65 blowout against Chinese Taipei. He then came back and scored 12 against Russia in a 85-78 win, following that up with superb effort against Brazil.
In that matchup, Greenwood had his best game of the tournament, scoring 17 points as the Emus broke a 28-28 halftime tie for a tense 63-57 win. Greenwood added a pair of threes in the contest along with five steals.
“We are very pleased with how Hugh has been playing,” said UNM head coach Steve Alford. “He is having a great experience playing in the U-19 Worlds, and that experience alone should best prepare him for our upcoming season.”
After the game, Greenwood told FIBA.TV, “It’s been a lot of hard work. I’m happy to be out here. It’s been four years of working hard for these moments, and to sit out and watch the guys, it was tough.” Greenwood added, “A lot of us are going to U.S. colleges, so probably 70% of us haven’t played games so we are just getting that game fitness back and we are getting better and better.”
Australia clinched the Group E title with a sound 72-52 victory over Poland earlier today. Greenwood scored 10 points and had a team-high three assists and two steals in the win. The will advance to the quarterfinals against the fourth place team in group F, most likely Serbia, depending on tiebreakers.