This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU junior Jonathan Tavernari made the Brazilian Olympic qualifying team and will play in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament between today and July 20 in Athens, Greece. Former Cougar and Jazz player Rafael Araujo is also on Team Brazil.
Jonathan Tavernari says the coach of the Brazilian national team that hopes to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing has as much confidence in the BYU junior-to-be as Tavernari has in himself.
In that case, expect Moncho Monslave to get the ball to the 6-foot-6 Tavernari as much as possible next week as Team Brazil participates in an Olympic qualifying tournament (today through July 20) in Athens, Greece.
A couple months removed from his sophomore season at BYU, Tavernari is as confident in himself as ever, an exchange of E-mails with the native of Sao Bernardo, Brazil, showed last week. He is also promising improved defense this winter, after acknowledging that to be a hole in his game.
"I'm not a fortune-teller, but I'd say, or expect, quite a bit [of playing time]," Tavernari said. "I'm the sixth man, and coach gives me a lot of confidence. He believes in me, probably as much as I believe in myself, and he pushes just like [BYU] coach [Dave] Rose does, and I love that."
Tavernari spent the last 5-6 weeks in Brazil before leaving on Friday for Athens as Brazil played in the Acropolis International Tournament Monday through Wednesday, a warm-up to the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Brazil, hoping to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, must finish in the top three to make it to the Games next month in Beijing.
The other teams are Greece, Lebanon, Cape Verde Islands, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, Korea, Slovenia, Cameroon, Croatia and Puerto Rico. University of Utah point guard Tyler Kepkay made the Canadian team, but Kepkay and Tavernari won't play against each other unless both teams reach the semifinals.
Still, Tavernari got a reminder of the BYU-Utah rivalry in the warm-up affair because Australia features former Ute Andrew Bogut. Team Brazil also features ex-BYU center Rafael Araujo, who spent some time in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz before playing in Russia last season.
"You know, here, we have two Cougs - a former All-American and one of the most dominant centers to ever play in the MWC, and this other kid [himself] who can play, too, so I'll go with Rafa and J-Tav against TK and Big Bogut," Tavernari said.
During his first trip back to his native country in two years, Tavernari spent the first week in his hometown of Sao Bernardo visiting family and friends. Then it was off to Rio de Janeiro to begin training.
He said he was with the Senior Men's National Team B at first, but after a few practices he was called up to the A Team.
He's been working out at shooting guard, rather than the power forward position he grew accustomed to the last two years in Provo. At BYU, Tavernari helped the Cougars win back-to-back outright conference championships and was the MWC Freshman of the Year in 2006-07 and a third-team all-MWC selection in 2007-08.
He averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds a game last year and made a school-record 88 three-pointers.
"Oh man, I've improved a lot, especially my consistency and my concentration," he said as Team Brazil completed training camp. "My defense has stepped up quite a few notches, and I love that some people think I'm not for real about this whole defense-stopper goal."
He said he has also worked hard on his shooting, including drills after practice with coaches in which shots don't count if he doesn't jump. He can perhaps get away with that flat-footed shooting style in college, he said, but not the pros.
"I'm being pushed to become a better player, and I love [it], because I love challenges," he said.
As for Brazil's chances of making it to Beijing, the ever-confident Tavernari offered a positive report.
"We believe we're the best going into this deal," he said. "If we don't have the confidence and belief that we're the best and we can do this, how can we expect that 180 million Brazilians will support us?"