Devon van Oostrum insists he is ready to step up to the mark and help Great Britain men's team reach next summer’s EuroBasket finals.
The 21-year-old is a fast emerging talent following some strong performances at the EuroBasket 2013 finals in Slovenia.
And with a number of senior players either injured or unavailable for the upcoming qualifiers, van Oostrum is likely to figure even more in head coach Joe Prunty’s plans as the team go in search of a fourth-straight finals appearance.
Great Britain open their qualification campaign with a trip to Iceland on Sunday before welcoming Bosnia to the Copper Box Arena at London’s Olympic Park next Wednesday, August 13.
And while targeting a good showing on a personal front, van Oostrum believes that the whole team is capable of producing the goods on court.
"I definitely think that with players missing and others being unavailable my role has to increase and I know that I need to step up for the team,” he said.
"I'm hoping to play at the same level as I did at EuroBasket last year because I definitely made a step forward and this year I need to do that again. This tournament can really give you a chance to make a name for yourself.
"We play against Bosnia and they have a great coach and great players and Iceland are a talented side as well but I think we can beat them both.
“Obviously we're hoping to win each game that we play and finish first so that we get a good group spot at EuroBasket and the goal for next year will be to get out of the group.”
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