Arsalan Kazemi
Encyclopedia
Arsalan Kazemi Naeini is an Iran
ian basketball player who currently plays for Rice University
and the Iran national basketball team
.
He was the captain of the Iranian under-18 national basketball team
and has previously played for the main team of Zob Ahan Isfahan at the age of 17 before travelling to the United States in February 2008.
, Seton Hall
, Oklahoma State
, Missouri
, Nebraska
and Rice
. On 1 November 2008, Kazemi committed to play for Rice University Owls
. He became the first Iranian to play Division I basketball. He is a member of McMurtry College at Rice University.
.
The all conference team was not the only honor that Kazemi was awarded in the 2010-2011 season. To go along with his 2 time player of the week and all conference team, Kazemi was named to the all NABC all district second team for district 11 along with Aaron Johnson from UAB and Will Barton from Memphis. Later Kazemi was named to the NCAA all international first team that included Tristan Thompson from University of Texas and Nikola Vucevic from USC. Kazemi made one more all district team, this one was the USBWA All-District VII team. The team also featured 2010 C-USA player of the year Randy Culpepper from UTEP, The Big XII's all time leading scorer LaceDarius Dunn from Baylor and Jordan Hamilton from University of Texas. Kazemi would be honored one more time by the USBWA. They gave him the 2010-2011 Most Courageous Award. Kazemi became the third recipient of the award. Dave Rose, the coach of BYU, and Kelvin Davis of San Diego State were the other two winners in years past.
team, Kazemi led the Iranian national team with 16.6PPG, 12.2RPG and 3 assists to become the teams highest scorer at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship 2009
in Auckland
, New Zealand.
Kazemi was initially called up to the national senior team
in August 2010 for the Stanković Cup
, ahead of the much anticipated 2010 FIBA World Championship
. Kazemi went on to be Iran's second leading scorer in the competition after Hamed Haddadi with an average of 12ppg, 7.4rpg and 2.8spg.
Following impressive performances Kazemi received much praise amongst international media. SLAM Magazine
rated Kazemi as one of the top 5 NBA Draft prospects competing in the tournament.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian basketball player who currently plays for Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
and the Iran national basketball team
Iran national basketball team
The Iran national basketball team represents Iran in international basketball competitions and is controlled by IR Iran Basketball Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and the two time champions of the FIBA Asia Championship.-History:...
.
He was the captain of the Iranian under-18 national basketball team
Iran national basketball team
The Iran national basketball team represents Iran in international basketball competitions and is controlled by IR Iran Basketball Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and the two time champions of the FIBA Asia Championship.-History:...
and has previously played for the main team of Zob Ahan Isfahan at the age of 17 before travelling to the United States in February 2008.
Rice
Kazemi received scholarship offers from MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, Seton Hall
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...
, Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
and Rice
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. On 1 November 2008, Kazemi committed to play for Rice University Owls
Rice Owls men's basketball
The Rice Owls men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Rice University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in Conference USA...
. He became the first Iranian to play Division I basketball. He is a member of McMurtry College at Rice University.
Freshman
Kazemi averaged 10.3 ppg and 9.1 rpg in his first season at Rice. Kazemi was named in the C-USA All-Freshman Team alongside NBA drafted Hassan WhitesideHassan Whiteside
Hassan Niam Whiteside is an American basketball power forward and center for the Sacramento Kings. He was drafted 33rd to the Kings in the 2010 NBA Draft. He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd.-Early life:Whiteside played middle school basketball in Gastonia, NC...
.
Sophomore
As a sophomore Kazemi was picked to the pre-season all C-USA team 2nd team picked by the leagues coaches. Kazemi got off to a fast start averaging 17.5 points and 11.14 rebounds in the first 14 games of the season, before conference play started. He recorded nine total double double's in the first 14 games, which included a 26 point and 14 rebound game against Miami in the ACC and a 19 point and 17 rebound game against LSU in the SEC. In the weeks of December 27, 2010 and January 3, 2011 Kazemi was named C-USA player of the week becoming the first and only player to receive the honor two weeks in a row for the 2010-2011 season. Kazemi didn't miss a beat when entering conference play putting up a career high 28 points in the teams first conference game of the season against Tulane University on January 5, 2011. Kazemi would get another career high against Tulane, this time grabbing 19 rebounds on February 2, 2011. Kazemi finished conference play with 8 more double double's. Some notable games included a 28 point 13 rebound game against Tulane, a 17 point 13 rebound game against University of Houston, a 21 point 16 rebound game against SMU, and a 24 point 18 rebound game against SMU again. Kazemi finished up C-USA play with 9 double double's (including the conference tournament) and a conference average of 13.6 points and 10.9 rebounds. This brought his season total of double double's to 18, which placed him in the top ten among all of active Div I players. His play in Conference USA earned him a spot on the All Conference 2nd team just as predicted in the pre-season. < Kazemi averaged 15.2 points and 11 rebounds having a total of 487 points, 120 offensive rebounds, 231 defensive rebounds making a grand total of 351 rebounds on the year. In only two years at Rice Kazemi had scored 797 points and grabbed 623 rebounds.The all conference team was not the only honor that Kazemi was awarded in the 2010-2011 season. To go along with his 2 time player of the week and all conference team, Kazemi was named to the all NABC all district second team for district 11 along with Aaron Johnson from UAB and Will Barton from Memphis. Later Kazemi was named to the NCAA all international first team that included Tristan Thompson from University of Texas and Nikola Vucevic from USC. Kazemi made one more all district team, this one was the USBWA All-District VII team. The team also featured 2010 C-USA player of the year Randy Culpepper from UTEP, The Big XII's all time leading scorer LaceDarius Dunn from Baylor and Jordan Hamilton from University of Texas. Kazemi would be honored one more time by the USBWA. They gave him the 2010-2011 Most Courageous Award. Kazemi became the third recipient of the award. Dave Rose, the coach of BYU, and Kelvin Davis of San Diego State were the other two winners in years past.
International
As captain of the Iranian under-19Iran national basketball team
The Iran national basketball team represents Iran in international basketball competitions and is controlled by IR Iran Basketball Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and the two time champions of the FIBA Asia Championship.-History:...
team, Kazemi led the Iranian national team with 16.6PPG, 12.2RPG and 3 assists to become the teams highest scorer at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship 2009
FIBA Under-19 World Championship 2009
The 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship was an international basketball competition held in Auckland, New Zealand from July 2, 2009 until July 12.-Qualification:*FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship 2008*#*#*FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship 2008*#*#*#...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand.
Kazemi was initially called up to the national senior team
Iran national basketball team
The Iran national basketball team represents Iran in international basketball competitions and is controlled by IR Iran Basketball Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and the two time champions of the FIBA Asia Championship.-History:...
in August 2010 for the Stanković Cup
2010 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
The 2010 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup, officially called Dongfeng Yueda KIA Stanković Continental Cup 2010, was the 6th annual Stanković Cup Tournament and was held in Liuzhou, China from July 28 to August 1.-Game results:...
, ahead of the much anticipated 2010 FIBA World Championship
2010 FIBA World Championship
The 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
. Kazemi went on to be Iran's second leading scorer in the competition after Hamed Haddadi with an average of 12ppg, 7.4rpg and 2.8spg.
Following impressive performances Kazemi received much praise amongst international media. SLAM Magazine
SLAM Magazine
SLAM Magazine is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994, published by Source Interlink. SLAM publishes nine issues a year to its circulation of over 500,000 readers worldwide.-History:...
rated Kazemi as one of the top 5 NBA Draft prospects competing in the tournament.