For the first time since 1972, Summer Olympics Basketball later this month will have a rare island flavor to it as former University of Hawai’i forward Zigmars Raimo will be competing with Latvia’s 3×3 team and current sophomore forward Akira Jacobs is a member of Japan’s 12-man squad in Paris.
The last time UH basketball was represented in the Summer Olympics was in 1972, when Rainbows guard Tom Henderson helped lead the USA to a controversial Silver Medal finish.
Jacobs, 20, is the youngest player on Japan’s roster but was not totally surprised with his selection.
“I always believed that if you’re called to the Camp, no matter how small of a chance it might seem, you’re there for a reason and there’s gonna be a chance to advance,” said Jacobs, a 6-foot-9 forward who is an effective outside shooter. “You just need to know what is expected from you. Something that is really big with this Japan team is knowing your role and your personality — what you do well. And so just being able to follow that and doing what I need to do, I thought I had a pretty solid chance and I’m glad I was able to perform enough to get to that final 12.”
That being said, Jacobs acknowledged the opportunity came sooner than he imagined as a child.
“Representing Japan on the Senior National Team has always been a dream of mine,” Jacobs said. “I’ve said previously that my goal was always 2028, the Los Angeles Olympics. But given this opportunity … my chance came a lot earlier. (So) I switched my focus and I really wanted this one, in Paris.
“Me being on this roster, I really like (it). A lot of the younger players, I had the same goals as them, from the U-18 team. I think that’s really important. And then there’s the connection with Hawai’i. Hugh Watanabe is also on the team, so that connection there … It’s something that I’m really proud of and thankful for the people (in the islands).”
Watanabe, a 6-9 forward who went by the name Hugh Hogland while growing up in Waimanalo and helping ‘Iolani win a state championship in 2016, played college basketball at Portland. He has been playing pro basketball in Japan since graduating.
“I’m really close with Hugh,” Jacobs said. “Last year, when we first met, he really helped me out with learning about Hawai’i, the places and connecting with the culture. Having on the team will make it more comfortable.”
Jacobs feels especially blessed to have the opportunity now.
“As a college student, and at this age, it’s something that not a lot of people are able to experience,” Jacobs said. “For my goal, my professional career in basketball, I think playing against some of the top players in the world … that’s going to be something that is so important in my development, seeing how much work I need to put in and what level of competition there really is. It’s super exciting, but also I just gotta be really prepared because we want to be able to beat those teams.
“The preparation that goes into it, I gotta focus, and lock in.”
Jacobs already has had experience in international basketball. He was born in Yokohama, Japan, grew up in California and moved back to his birth country in 2020. Since then he has been part of the national team program, including last year when he competed for the Japan National Team at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary. He helped Japan to its highest-ever finish in the event, while finishing fifth among all players in the tournament with 17 points per game.
During his freshman season at UH, Jacobs played sparingly at first before gaining more and more minutes off the bench as the season progressed. He appeared off the bench in 28 games, scoring in 15 of them, including a stretch of 10 straight. Jacobs shot 40 percent from the field, including 35 percent on three-pointers.
“I’ve gotten physically stronger, I’ve gained more weight,” Jacobs said about his development over the past year. “My one year in Hawai’i with (strength and conditioning coordinator) Tanner (Hull) really helped me being able to take contact, especially playing the forward position against guys who were bigger and stronger in the post. Practicing against guys like Justin (McKoy) and playing against the bigs in the Big West.
“And my confidence … I know my role as a shooter. In the first practice game against Korea, I missed the first couple shots. I feel like a couple years ago I would have stopped there and not shot the ball. But confidence is one of the biggest improvements that I’ve had, and it’s helped me to get to this point.”
Among Jacobs’ teammates on the Japan team are Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and former Memphis Grizzlies forward Yuta Watanabe.
“The biggest moment for me was going up against Hachimura the first time, (seeing) how much faster and how strong he is, and his decision-making,” Jacobs said. “Stuff like that, it seemed so much higher, it’s where I want to be at. From there, you slowly learn like, how they move. It’s just a positive experience. Being able to play against him and wanting to go after him and say, ‘Next play, I’m going to stop him.’ That feeling, that’s helping me get better and better every day.
“The past few weeks I’ve been practicing with them and just seeing how they play, it’s really helped me out a lot. Especially with those two being the position I play, I match up with them a lot. So just being able to match up and play against them offensively and defensively, I think it’s been helping my game a lot. Because that’s the level of competition it’s going to be in the Olympics. Especially with us playing against France and Germany, those are countries with multiple NBA guys on their roster, so it’s really helping me prepare for what’s about to come.”
The Japan team left for Europe on July 11 and will have had three practice games — against Poland, Germany and Serbia — before the Opening Ceremony on July 26. Japan will compete in “Pool B” against Germany, France and Brazil.
“If we do well in those three group phase games, then we move on to the quarterfinals,” Jacobs said. “That’s our goal. We want to be in the top eight.”
Japan basketball ended a 48-year Olympic drought when it qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Games as the host country’s automatic bid.
“Watching that 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Japan didn’t really do that great,” Jacobs said. “But from that point to where Japan basketball is now, there’s such a huge improvement. I think that this will be a chance to show how much the game has grown here. And we have a really strong pool, so it’s even better for us, as our chance to prove (ourselves) to the world.”
Jacobs said this Olympic team experience is the best summer program he could asked for in preparation for the upcoming UH season.
“Getting into that game flow … And then now playing against NBA guys, I think that’s something that is really going to help me,” Jacobs said. “I think that was the jump between when I played on the U-19 team and then when I was at the senior national team camp. This year I’ve been doing their training and their weight lifting, getting used to what all these pro guys do.”
Raimo, meanwhile, is one of four players on Latvia’s 3×3 squad. The 3×3 game made its Olympic debut at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with Latvia capturing the gold medal. Raimo helped Latvia qualify for Paris and the right to defend its gold medal by winning the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hong Kong earlier this spring. Latvia will open pool play against Lithuania on July 30.
Raimo, a 6-7 power forward who is from Madona, Latvia, was a four-year letterwinner and favorite for Hawai’i from 2016-20. He appeared in 114 career games, culminating in a senior season in which he earned Big West honorable mention as well as the league’s Hustle Player of the Year award.
“I think that’s pretty cool, another guy from the University of Hawai’i,” Jacobs said. “It’s really important, especially because our (UH) team is such an international team. It’s like a representation of how international our (program) is. I’ve been talking to my teammates, and I feel like all the support they’ve given me, I’ll be taking that with me.”