Naz Long

Nazareth Jersey "Naz" Mitrou-Long (born August 3, 1993) is a Canadian college basketball player with the Iowa State Cyclones.

High school career

One of the top prospects out of Canada, Long was ranked as the 7th-best player in Canada according to North Pole Hoops. He participated in the 2011 All-Canada Classic, a showcase of the best Canadian basketball players and played for the CIA Bounce AAU program, the top AAU summer circuit in Canada. He played with NBA players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, and future Cyclone teammate Melvin Ejim while competing for REDA Red in the National Prep School Athletic Association in 2011-12. Naz played for Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, Nev., during the 2010-11 season, helping the Prep Pilots to a 28-4 record and their third-straight ESPN Rise National High School Invitational appearance where he was teammates with Texas’ Myck Kabongo. He prepped at Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md) in 2009-10, teaming with Duke’s Josh Hairston During his recruitment he received offers from Rice, Dayton, Creighton, and Miami, eventually committing to the Iowa State Cyclones.

College career

Freshman season

Naz saw action in 18 games as a freshman, averaging 1.4 points and 1.0 assists. He tallied seven points vs. Southern and handed out seven assists vs. Alabama A&M.

Sophomore season

Long played in all 36 games, making seven starts and establishing himself as a clutch 3-point threat. He averaged 7.1 points per game and shot 40 percent from behind the arc, finishing fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0) and seventh in 3-pointers made (1.8). His 64 3-pointers ranks as the 17th-most by a Cyclone in a single season. He made at least four 3-pointers in seven games. He hit a 30-foot three at the buzzer to send the Cyclones to overtime against Oklahoma State^[1] and in ISU's game at Oklahoma State earlier in the season, Long drilled a three to send the game to triple-OT.^[2] He earned Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honors after hitting 8-of-11 3-pointers in the Cyclones' season-opening win against UNC Wilmington and finishing with a career-high 26 points in the game.^[3] He went 4-of-6 from long range to score 16 points in the Cyclones' win against No. 7 Michigan. Long played a key role in ISU's Big 12 Tournament run, making 7-of-10 threes and averaging 10 points and going 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the championship game against Baylor. In the third round of the NCAA Tournament, Long hit three 3-pointers in the final 5:10, including one that tied the game at 81, as ISU rallied to defeat North Carolina.^[4] He averaged 7.1 points per game and shot 40 percent from behind the arc, finishing fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0) and seventh in 3-pointers made (1.8). His 64 3-pointers ranks as the 17th-most by a Cyclone in a single season.

Junior season

Long saw action in all 34 games, making 33 starts and hit four or more threes in a game six times. He scored a team-high 20 points in Iowa State's regular season win against Kansas and connected on 5-of-9 threes to lead Iowa State with 21 points in win at Iowa.^[5] He drilled 7-of-10 threes and scored a season-high 24 points against Mississippi Valley State.^[6] Naz grabbed a career-high seven boards in win against Texas. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. He hit a team-high 77 three-pointers, the eighth most in a single season by a Cyclone. He was second in the Big 12 averaging 2.3 three-pointers made per game and finished the season tied for fifth in the league shooting 39.1 percent behind the arc. Naz had ISU's third-longest streak of games with a three-pointer come to an end at 21 games. He shot 44.9 percent from the field despite 77.5 percent of his shots coming from three-point range and is tied for fifth all-time at Iowa State with 146 three-pointers made. Long suffered a labral tears in both of his hips during the season. In the offseason he had separate surgeries to repair each tear.^[7]

Senior season

Naz played in the first eight games this season for the fifth-ranked Cyclones, averaging 12.0 points in 31.6 minutes, before deciding to sit out the rest of the season because of persistent discomfort. According to Cyclones.com, Naz will sit out the rest of the 2015-2016 basketball season due to continued pain from his recent hip surgeries. Naz is seeking a medical red shirt in hopes of playing his senior season in the 2016-2017 year. ^[8]

College statistics

References

External links

• Naz Long at Cyclones.com
• Naz Long at ESPN.com
• Naz Long at CBSSport.com
• Naz Long on Twitter