TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's basketball signee Patrick Samoura will represent his home nation of the Czech Republic at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Samoura and the Czech Republic secured one of four final qualifying spots into the 12-team filed that will compete in Tokyo by winning the Olympic Qualifying Tournament last week in Victoria, Canada. Samoura and his team rebounded after an opening round 87-70 defeat at the hands of Turkey to rattle off three straight wins over Uruguay, Canada and Greece.
"We really believed in ourselves and especially after the loss to Turkey in the first game we knew we could compete and beat Uruguay," Samoura said. "The win against Canada was special because of the talent they had and we noticed in pregame warmups that they weren't really taking us seriously. We felt like we weren't respected and took that underdog mentality after beating them into the finals against Greece."
Samoura started in each of the first two games against Turkey and Uruguay, and was utilized as a defensive weapon throughout the tournament. He averaged 6.9 minutes per contest in the three games that he competed in and finished with three rebounds and an assist.
"Even though I didn't play a lot of major minutes, I still took on my role to play hard, put pressure on the opposing point guard's defensively, and looked to come in and disrupt the other team's offensive flow," Samoura said. "It is such an honor to represent my country and play alongside some great players like Jan Vesely and Tomas Satoransky. Both of them have really taught me a lot about the game and I want to continue to gain as much knowledge about how to play the game at an elite level throughout this experience."
The UT Tyler signee was the lone amateur to make the 12-man roster that solidified the Czech Republic's first appearance in the Olympics since the separation of Czechoslovakia with a victory in the tournament.
"Patrick is a part of sports history in a great country," UT Tyler head men's basketball coach
Louis Wilson said. "What he and his team have accomplished is the stuff of legend in the Czech Republic and it's not everyday that people get to compete at the absolute highest level of international competition, which the Olympics are. Patrick will have that as part of his story forever and hopefully use that to propel him and us to great things here at UT Tyler."
Opening ceremonies for the Tokyo Olympics will be held on Friday, July 23 while the men's basketball tournament will tip off on Sunday, July 25. Samoura and the Czech Republic have been grouped in Group A alongside the United States, France and Iran.
"The United States team is obviously stacked with players like Kevin Durant, who I think personally is maybe the best player in the world right now after his performance in the NBA Semifinals," Samoura said. "I'm not going to try and compare myself or our team with those guys because they are just so good, but we want to continue to compete against the best of the best for as long as we can and continue to learn. Once we get a feel for what it's like playing against the elite of the elite, we want to just take it one step at a time and do the best we can."
The grouping will pit Samoura against current NBA stars Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum on the United States team, as well as Rudy Gobert and Nicolas Batum of the French team. The Czech Republic will take on Iran in the first of the preliminary round matches on July 24 at 9 p.m. ET.
"Our basketball family is deeply proud of Patrick and what he is a part of," Wilson said. "He deserves all of it and is a special person. He is an Olympian and he chose UT Tyler, which says a lot about this entire athletic department."
