Former Wildcats Nico Mannion and Josh Green help spur Olympic wins

TOKYO, JAPAN – With the Olympic action in full swing, former Wildcats Nico Mannion and Josh Green are helping their countries so far. 

The Olympics’ opening ceremonies officially kicked off on Friday evening, and so far in the 29th Summer Games, there has been no shortage of action, especially in basketball. With USA Basketball making news with their loss to France, former Wildcats Nico Mannion and Josh Green are quietly helping their home nations secure Olympic victories.

Fresh off rookie seasons in which both our former Wildcats saw some decent success, both Green and Mannion are getting invaluable experience this Summer in Tokyo, Japan.

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Nico of course places for the nation of Italy, thanks to his dual nationality, having been born in the nation of Italy.

As for Josh, the former talented and defensive-minded wing is getting his chance with a deep and talented Australian team.

Both Italy and Australia played on Sunday afternoon in Japan, and former Wildcats Nico Mannion and Josh Green helped fuel wins. 

With Italy taking on Germany on Sunday, this game was going to be a fun one to follow. Largely led by Washington Wizards forward Isaac Bonga and international star Maodo Lo, Germany has a solid squad.

However, Nico held his own on a squad that features NBA star Danilo Gallinari and former NBA player, Nicolo Melli. Scoring 10 points and dishing out seven assists on 4/10 shooting, Mannion was a big part of Italy’s 92-82 win in the Preliminary Round of Group B play.

This past season, Nico started to find a rhythm at the end of last season, and it seems that is carrying over into the Olympic games as he surely helped Italy in their opening win.

As for Josh, his performance may not have stood out quite like Nico’s, however, his impact was still felt. His squad is largely led by a cast of NBA stars that includes Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum, and Matisse Thybulle. However, Josh proved his worth on Sunday afternoon.

Logging just over five minutes of action, Green didn’t score any points, but did at least log a pair of rebounds, and even earned two steals in the teams’ 84-67 win over Nigeria in the Preliminary Round of Group B play.

Italy and Australia will return to action on Wednesday when both squads face off!