Whenever Luol Deng plays for Great Britain, the national team looks lovely. Unfortunately for the Brits, injuries and contract negotiations have limited Deng's availability. That was the case in 2009, when a Deng-less Britain lost every game it played, and by an average of 13 points. That knocked Britain out of contention for a spot in the 2010 FIBA World Championship; not even a not-too-subtle plea from NBA commissioner David Stern could convince FIBA to give the British a wild card berth in hopes of boosting the team in advance of the 2012 London Olympics.The team's best hope in convincing a clearly skeptical FIBA that Great Britain is fit to accept its potential Olympic host slot is to get into EuroBasket 2011 and perform well. Luckily, Deng has been able to play this summer as the British attempt to qualify for that tournament. And, per usual, he's playing great and carrying Britain to a strong performance.
Britain is the only unbeaten team among 15 attempting to qualify for EuroBasket. The British beat Ukraine 90-76 on Saturday, with Deng leading the way with 28 points and seven rebounds. In qualifying, Deng has topped the field with 24.8 points a game, and he's third on the boards with 8.5 rebounds a game. He's been the best player in qualifying, besting Montenegro's Nikola Pekovic, who will be a rookie for the Timberwolves next season.
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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/14/luol-deng-powering-britain-through-eurobasket-qualifying/
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