Bowling Green men's basketball player, assistant coach to square off in Olympic qualifier

An assistant coach and a current player both with the Bowling Green State University’s men’s basketball team will square off against each other, playing for their respective countries on Saturday in a FIBA men’s Olympic qualification tournament semifinal.

Lourawls Nairn, Jr., an assistant coach with BGSU and player for the Bahamas national team, will meet junior forward Youssef Khayat and Lebanon at the Pavello Municipal Font de Sant Lluís in Valencia, Spain.

Both countries advanced out of the preliminary group round, and Saturday’s winner will meet the Finland-Spain winner in the championship game. The tournament winner will advance to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Bahamas defeated Finland and Poland to win its group, while Lebanon lost to Spain but defeated Angola by four points to advance. Khayat had nine points and six rebounds in a starting role in the Angola win.

Meanwhile, Nairn started both group games for the Bahamas, totaling five points, three rebounds, and two assists in just over 24 minutes. Bahamas’ national team features current NBA players such as Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon.

Nairn is in his second season with the Falcons, joining on last season with head coach Todd Simon. Simon guided Bowling Green to a 20-win season.

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Khayat transferred to BGSU after two seasons at the University of Michigan. He appeared in 26 games, making one start with the Wolverines.

The Valencia tournament is one of four Olympic qualification tournaments, with others in Riga, Latvia, Piraeus, Greece, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.