The Dayton Flyers hope Mousa can bring all of that to the program in the 2024-25 season. Mousa, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Qatar, committed to Dayton last week. Unless Dayton adds another member of the 2024 recruiting class to its roster this summer, he will be the only true freshman on the team in coach Anthony Grant’s eighth season.
Mousa has played far from home in Canberra, Australia, for the NBA Global Academy the last three years. He caught the attention of college coaches with his performance at a Basketball Without Borders event in Noblesville, Ind., in February.
Nathan Brereton, an assistant coach for the Global Academy team, knows Mousa well and answered some questions about his game via Instagram messenger last weekend.
“Hamad, the player, is a dynamic three-level scorer,” Brereton wrote. “High-level shooter from 3 who can shoot it off the bounce (pick and roll, etc). He has excellent deceleration and balance, so he can create for himself and others through step-backs and other counters (think Paul George’s style of play). He’s long at 6-7 with a 7-1 wingspan, which allows him to make plays offensively but also be active defensively. He’s an improved facilitator as was seen at (Basketball Without Borders). Great teammate. Always smiling and positive but also a competitor.”
Twenty one alumni from the NBA Global Academy played in the NCAA tournament in 2024, including 14 who played at the academy’s location in Australia. The academy’s training center is located at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Another Atlantic 10 Conference school, Davidson, landed a 2024 recruit, Manie Joses, of England, from Mousa’s team. Hyunjung Lee, of Korea, was a 1,000-point scorer for Davidson in three seasons (2019-22) after playing at the Global Academy.
The NBA Global Academy, which was launched in 2016, produced a NBA Draft pick for the first time in 2019 when the Oklahoma City Thunder drafted Josh Giddey with the No. 6 pick in the first round.
Mousa improved his strength and agility while at the Academy, Brereton wrote, and also “his understanding of team concepts both offensively and defensively, but also practice habits, how to be a pro and look after himself off the floor.”
Brereton wasn’t involved in the recruiting process with Mousa but wrote, “College has always been a goal for him. He comes from a strong basketball family with his father being a pro from Qatar.”
Mousa will add to a growing legacy of international players at UD. The Flyers had the first Division I player from Mongolia, Mike Sharavjamts, on their roster in the 2022-23 season. Grant and his staff have signed players from Belgium (Toumani Camara), Canada (Isaac Jack, Kobe Elvis, Jordy Tshimanga), Mali (Moulaye Sissoko), Finland (Mustapha Amzil), Lithuania (Petras Padegimas) and the Dominican Republic (Jhery Matos) since 2017.
“Dayton is a great fit for Hamad as Hamad is a great person,” Brereton said. “Funny, positive, always smiling, and loves basketball. It’s a strong program in a tough league, but that’s appealing to a guy like Hamad. Hamad is well prepared after his time at the Academy and will no doubt do as much as he can to help the program be successful.”
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