Tum Tum Narin Jr. makes Olympics history with Michigan transfer
The rise of former Michigan State basketball great Lourawls “Tum Tum” Narin Jr. since graduating from Michigan State back in 2017 is no short of astonishing.
After graduating from Michigan State, he quickly returned to East Lansing in 2019 as a graduate assistant before becoming a head coach for the first time at his alma mater Sunrise Christian Academy. From there he became an assistant coach at Southern Utah in 2022 before taking the same position at Bowling Green in 2023. Now heading into 2024, Tum Tum’s been promoted and is the associate head coach at Bowling Green.
This is one of the quicker rises through the coaching ranks that you’ll see, but no Spartan fan should be surprised seeing that. However, throughout all of this coaching, Tum Tum has still found a way to continue playing for the Bahamas’ National team.
And he is making history by doing something for the first time in Olympic basketball history.
Tum Tum and the Bahamas are 2-0 at their Olympic qualifying tournament and need two more wins to qualify for the games later this summer. Their next game against Lebanon is when Tum Tum will make history as it will be the first time a current coach and one of his players play against each other in Olympic basketball history.
Youssef Khayat is a member of team Lebanon and just spent the previous collegiate season at Michigan. He then entered the transfer portal and moved on to Bowling Green, where Tum Tum is the associate head coach.
No other coach and player have ever competed against each other in Olympic basketball history, and honestly how cool is it for them that they get to do this on such a big stage?
Well this is pretty cool. BGSU assistant men's basketball coach Lourawls Nairn Jr., playing for the Bahamas, will be squaring off against Falcons' junior forward Youssef Khayat of Lebanon in the semifinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain on Saturday.
— Michael Burwell (@Michael_Burwell) July 5, 2024
Tum Tum has averaged 2.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and one assist per game this tournament across 12.5 minutes per game. The Bahamas team is actually pretty talented as they have elite NBA players Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon, and Deandre Ayton on their roster.
The Bahamas and Lebanon square off on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET with a trip to the championship game on the line. The winner will take on the winner of Spain vs. Finland for a spot at this summer’s Olympics.