Rising Coastal Carolina sophomore Amidou Bamba helped Canada win its first ever gold medal in a FIBA men’s basketball tournament, as the Canadians took gold in the U19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt, last month.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Toronto native was among 21 players invited to try out for the team and one of 12 retained by coach Roy Rana, head coach at Ryerson University in Canada.
The team played three exhibition games in France against France, Spain and Lithuania before the 16-nation Federation of International Basketball Associations tournament.
In seven tournament games over nine days, the Canadians defeated Mali, lost to Spain, then defeated Japan, Angola and France before shocking the heavily favored U.