Israeli Hoops Can Blow Away Much of Middle East Like Pagers/Walkie-Talkies
October 7th, 2025 - 7:56
As Israel mourns the two-year mark after Hamas' horrific terrorist attack, nation can take its mind off despair and increased anti-Semitism by focusing on basketball superiority. Israeli icon Omer Mayer could pair with Purdue All-American Braden Smith to give the Boilermakers the premier backcourt in the country this campaign.
They might be superior at chasing goats, but how few quality basketball players originated from majority of Middle East and Arab League (Afghanistan/Algeria/Bahrain/Egypt/Iran/Iraq/Jordan/Kuwait/Lebanon/Libya/Morocco/Oman/Palestine/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Somalia/Syria/Yemen)? Meanwhile, Connecticut (bolstered by Big East Conference honorees Nadav Henefeld and Doron Sheffer) has been the biggest beneficiary from the following long list of premier Israelis playing for NCAA Division I universities:
| Israeli Player | Pos. | DI School(s) | College Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Adler | G | South Florida | Averaged 4.7 ppg in 1996-97. |
| Danny Allouche | G | Missouri/Northwestern | Averaged 4.3 ppg in 1995-96 and 2.8 ppg in 1996-97 with Mizzou before transferring to Northwestern and averaging 2.8 ppg in 1998-99. |
| Ben Altiot | F-C | Bryant | Averaged 5 ppg and 2.6 rpg as a freshman in 2011-12. |
| Lior Arditti | G | Boston College | Averaged 9.3 ppg in 1989-90 and 4.5 ppg in 1990-91. |
| Moshe "Mickey" Berkovich | G | UNLV | Averaged 2.5 ppg in 1975-76. His son, Niv, played for Marquette in 2004-05. |
| Gadi Buch | F | Fairleigh Dickinson | Averaged 4.3 ppg and 2 rpg from 2002-03 through 2004-05. |
| Julius "Julie" Cohen | G | Miami (Fla.) | NYU transfer averaged 13 ppg and 4.8 rpg from 1959-60 through 1961-62. He played in the Maccabiah Games. |
| Nir Cohen | F-C | San Diego | J.C. recruit averaged 9.1 ppg and 4.4 rpg in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Shot a team-high 53.2% from the floor as a senior. |
| Shey Cohen | F | Niagara | J.C. recruit averaged 3.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg from 1999-00 through 2001-02. |
| Ido Flaisher | C | Hawaii | Averaged 2.5 ppg and 2.1 rpg in 2016-17 and 2017-18. |
| Raziel Hayun | F | Manhattan | Averaged 3.4 ppg in 2022-23 and 2023-24. |
| Nadav Henefeld | F | Connecticut | Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 1989-90 when he led the league in steals (3.7 spg) while also averaging 11.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg. |
| Tom Kaplan | F | Monmouth | Averaged 3.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg for the Hawks' 2004 NCAA playoff team. |
| Tomer Karni | G | Marist | Led the Red Foxes in assists with 85 to go along with 5.3 ppg in 1995-96 before returning to his native country to play professionally. |
| Egor Koulechov | G-F | Arizona State/Rice/Florida | Averaged 3.7 ppg and 2.8 rpg with ASU in 2013-14, 17.5 ppg and 8 rpg with Rice in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and 13.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg with Florida in 2017-18. |
| Shahar Lazar | G | Gardner-Webb | New Mexico State redshirt transfer averaged 3.7 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 2023-24. |
| Yonatan Levy | F | Pepperdine | Averaged 7.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2.6 apg for Green Bay in 2024-25 before transferring. |
| Tom Maayan | G | Seton Hall | Averaged 2.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.2 spg from 2012-13 to 2014-15. |
| Karam Mashour | G-F | Morehead State | UNLV transfer averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg in 2014-15. |
| Gal Mekel | G | Wichita State | Averaged 4 ppg as a freshman in 2006-07 and 9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg and team-high 3.7 apg as a sophomore in 2007-08. |
| Michael Moshkovitz | F | Penn | Juco recruit averaged 3.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg in 2021-22 and 2022-23. |
| Ofri Naveh | F | West Virginia/Oral Roberts | Transfer averaged 2.6 ppg and 2.5 rpg as a freshman in 2023-24 with WV before redshirting last season. |
| Izik Ohanon | F | Saint Louis | Part-time starter averaged 4.9 ppg and 3.2 rpg as a sophomore in 2002-03, 7.2 ppg and 2.8 rpg as a junior in 2003-04 and 11.8 ppg and 5.4 rpg with a team-high 52.7% shooting from the floor as a senior in 2004-05. |
| Doron Sheffer | G | Connecticut | Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 1993-94 when he averaged 11.9 ppg and 4.8 apg while leading the Huskies in steals. He was an all-league second-team selection the next season and became an All-American in 1995-96 when averaging 16 ppg and 6.1 apg. |
| Israel Sheinfeld | C | Wright State | Averaged 4 ppg and 3.5 rpg as a freshman in 1998-99, 17 ppg with team highs of 7.7 rpg and 54.3% field-goal shooting as a sophomore in 1999-00 and 14.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg with a team high of 59.4% field-goal shooting as a junior in 2000-01 before turning pro early. |
| Haim Shimonovich | F-C | Hawaii | Averaged 6.7 ppg and 6.2 rpg from 2000-01 through 2003-04. Led the Rainbows in rebounding as a sophomore and junior. |
| Yaniv Simpson | G | Monmouth | Averaged 8.5 ppg and hit all 16 of his free-throw attempts as a sophomore in 2007-08 and 7.7 ppg with team-high 53 three-pointers as a junior in 2008-09. |
| Roman Sorkin | F | Oregon | Averaged 2.5 ppg from 2014-15 through 2017-18. |
| Amit Tamir | C | California | Averaged 9.9 ppg and 3.5 rpg and shot 82.9% from the free-throw line as a freshman in 2001-02 before becoming an All-Pacific-10 Conference selection as a sophomore when averaging 14.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Contributed 12.6 ppg and 5.3 rpg as a junior in 2003-04. |
| Mushon Ya'akosi | F | Fordham | Averaged 5.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg from 2002-03 through 2004-05. |
| Jovan Zelenbaba | G | Northwestern State | Averaged 4.7 ppg and 2 rpg from 2019-20 through 2022-23. |
| Guy Zenou | F | Towson | Averaged 5.2 ppg and 2.4 rpg as a freshman in 1998-99. |