NEW ORLEANS - Former University of New Orleans basketball players Bo McCalebb and Hector Romero will be competing in the upcoming weeks in a FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in which each will have an opportunity to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
McCalebb led the Macedonian men's national team to a spot in the qualifying tournament following a 'Cinderella' run to a fourth place finish in the 2011 FIBA European Championships. An accomplished professional with EuroLeague power Montepaschi Siena, McCalebb will attempt to lead Macedonia to their first-ever Olympic qualifying berth.
During his time with UNO, the former O. Perry Walker product thrived despite playing under three different coaches over a five-year span. McCalebb scored 2,679 points to rank as the top scorer in school and Sun Belt Conference history, ranking No. 21 overall in NCAA Division I history upon the completion of his career.
Romero is a starter for the Venezuelan national team and was a member of the squad that competed in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. The squad's lone appearance in an Olympic Games occured in 1992 and earned a spot in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament following a fifth place finish at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship.
In two seasons with UNO, Romero failed to score in double-figures only once - his last game. He averaged 20.2 points per game in 2001-02 on way to a Sun Belt Conference championship and was at 18.3 points prior to a season-ending injury his senior season. A double-double threat each time on the floor, Romero averaged 10.8 boards his junior year to lead the Sun Belt before ranking third with 9.1 his senior campaign.
Updates...
June 28... McCalebb nets a double-double with
15 points and 10 assists in an 84-72 loss to Puerto Rico.... In Venezuela, Greivis Vasquez had 31 points in an 88-84 loss to the Dominican Republic in a game that went overtime.
June 27... McCalebb shoots 4 of 13 from the field and scores 13 points in a 96-77 loss to Puerto Rico. Pero Antic scored 19 points and grabs eight rebounds for Macedonia. J.J. Barea nets 11 points with 10 assists to pace Puerto Rico, which receives 15 points apiece from David Huertas and Alexander Galindo... Romero, Venezuela defeated Angola 90-83 in a FIBA friendly.
June 26... McCalebb and Macedonia are set to play Minnesota Timberwolves star J.J. Barea and Puerto Rico in a pair of friendlies on June 27th and 29th... Both games to be held in Puerto Rico... Romero, Venezuela defeated Jordan 81-42 in a friendly.
June 22... Romero scored a team-high 12 points for the Venezuelan national team in a 79-56 loss to Argentina on Friday night in the FIBA South American championship game. (
story)
June 21... Romero scores 10 points as Venezuela advances to the FIBA South American championships for the first time since 1997. (
story)
June 20... Nine points for Romero in a victory over Columbia that clinched a spot for the Venezuelan side in the 2012 FIBA South American championship semifinal round (
story)
June 19... Romero nets 10 points in a three-point setback against Olympic-bound Argentina. Face Columbia on June 20th in what amounts to must-win game. (
story)
June 18... Romero begins FIBA South American championships by scoring game-high 17 in a win over Chile (
story)... Feature story on McCalebb runs in SportsNOLA written by Ken Trahan asking if anyone in the NBA knows Bo (
story).
June 17... McCalebb wrapped up his professional commitments in directing Montepaschi Siena to a 4-1 series win over Armani Milano in the Italian League championships. McCalebb was named MVP of the series (
story) ... Romero scored 17 points for Venezuela in a 77-66 'Super 4 Cup' tournament title game. New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez scored a game-high 18 in the final preparation for the FIBA South American Championships tournament.
June 16... Macedonia (playing without Bo McCalebb) takes a 78-74 win over revenge-minded Lithuania. Lithuania fell to Macedonia in the 2011 FIBA European Championships and like the Macedonian side, has qualified for the Venezuelan pre-Olympic qualifying tournament... Venezuela defeated Brazil 84-76 behind an 18-point effort by New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez in the opening game of the 'Super 4 Cup'.
June 15... McCalebb scored 18 points in 34 minutes in a 88-83 loss to Milano in the Italian League championship series... next game is June 17th with Montepaschi holding a 3-1 lead.
June 14... Macedonia set to play Russia... McCalebb, Pero Antic and Vlado Ilievski are not scheduled to take part due to professional commitments... Macedonia led by five at the half before falling to Russia 80-61.
June 13... McCalebb inched closer to his final professional commitment before joining the Macedonia national team. The guard scores seven points, grabs seven rebounds and dishes out five assists in a 82-78 win, giving his team a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Italian League championship series. Next game, June 15th.
June 11... Romero officially named to Venezuelan team that will compete in the FIBA South American Basketball championships to be held June 18-22 in Argentina... Team will play Chile (June 18), Argentina (June 19) and Columbia (June 20) with knockout rounds scheduled for June 21 and 22. Head coach Brad Greenberg also announced a friendly against South Korea on June 30... McCalebb scores 21 points (16 in the first half) as Montepaschi rolls to an 86-58 victory and a 2-0 lead in the Italian League championship.
June 9... As he begins final professional competition prior to Olympic qualifier, McCalebb with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in an 86-77 win for Montepaschi Siena in game one of Italian League championship series... Romero named to first-team All-Venezuelan League, as well as 'Domestic Player of the Year', all-Domestic Team and All-Defensive selection.
June 6... Russia and Macedonia announce that they will play a friendly contest in Kaunas on June 14th. McCalebb begins the Italian League championship on June 9th with Montepaschi Siena.
June 5... Romero's Venezuelan side comes up short in the Super 4 Cup final, falling 87-78 to Olympic-bound Argentina.
June 4... UNO receives a call from NBA-TV, asking for information on McCalebb ahead of a short profile on the star due to air on the network in the next few weeks... NBA-TV informs UNO that the Macedonia national team will train at Georgia State University ahead of the July FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament... McCalebb and Macedonia featured in a
FIBA.com story
June 3... Greivis Vasquez led all scorers with 19 points while Romero chipped in another 11 points as Venezuela stunned Olympic-bound Brazil 76-59 in the Super 4 Cup.
June 2... New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez pours in 41 points as the Venezuela national team opens up the Super 4 Cup with an 86-83 win over Mexico... McCalebb scores 21 points for Montepaschi Siena, who clinches a spot in the Italian League championship series.
FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament
July 2-8, 2012 (Caracas, Venezuela)
Competing Countries: Russia, Macedonia, Lithuania, Greece, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Angola, Nigeria, Jordan, South Korea and Venezeula (host)
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The semifinal pairings will be A1/B2 vs. C1/D2 and B1/A2 vs. D1/C2.
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The semifinal winners will qualify for the Olympics. No championship game will be held.
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The semifinal losers will play for the last Olympic qualifying berth.
Macedonia Nat'l Team Schedule
July 2 - Macedonia vs Angola
July 3 - Macedonia vs New Zealand |
Venezuela Nat'l Team Schedule
July 2 - Venezuela vs Nigeria
July 3 - Venezuela vs Lithuania |
** Please note that television and/or Internet links to follow the Macedonia and Venezeulan national teams in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament will be made available closer to the contests. Final game times and more will also be shared on this site. **
UNO Athletics History in the Olympics
The only University of New Orleans student-athletes to compete in an Olympic Games according to available records were baseball players Joe Slusarski and Ted Wood in the 1988 Summer Games held in Seoul, South Korea. Though both won gold medals at the event, the sport at the time was strictly a demonstration sport.
Slusarski played for four teams over seven seasons in Major League Baseball while Wood's MLB career included three seasons with two different teams. Slusarski was a member of silver-medal winning squads at the 1987 Pan American Games (Indianapolis) and 1988 Baseball World Cup (Rome). Wood also competed in the in the World Cup.
Another notable individual with Privateer ties to compete in an Olympics was former UNO swimming and diving coach Ashley Tappin. Tappin coached at UNO from 2004 through 2007 and had three Olympic golf medals on her resume - one in 1992 (4 x 100 free relay) and a pair in 2000 (4 x 100 free relay, 4 x 100 medley relay).
