Arizona guard Pelle Larsson has joined Sweden's senior national team, meaning he might pick up some experience against former Wildcat forward Lauri Markkanen and NBA all-star Luka Doncic this summer.
Larsson will make his national team debut for Sweden against Markkanen and Finland in a 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying game at 8:30 a.m. Arizona time on Thursday in Espoo, Finland. (It will be streamed to subscribers onΒ Courtside1891.)
The Swedes are then scheduled to host SloveniaΒ andΒ DoncicΒ on Sunday in Stockholm.Β
Two of UA's other 2022-23 players will also be involved in World Cup qualifying games this week. Incoming freshman big manΒ Henri VeesaarΒ isΒ scheduled to play in a European qualifying game on Thursday, for Estonia against Germany. Veesaar suited up for two World Cup qualifier games in February against Poland, playing a minute in the second game.
Meanwhile, UA center Oumar Ballo is scheduled to play for Mali in an African World Cup qualifying game on Friday against Uganda in Kigali, Rwanda.
In the current set of qualifying games, Estonia will also play against Israel on Sunday while Mali is also scheduled to face Nigeria on Saturday and Cape Verde on Sunday.
Debut πΈπͺ pic.twitter.com/9ObFnn7FDt
— Pelle Larsson (@PelleLarsson_) June 29, 2022
Larsson was training with the Swedish national team last August but broke a foot that kept him off the national team and out of nearly all of Arizona's preseason.Β
Arizona's Pelle Larsson and his Swedish teammates arrived in Finland to prepare for a FIBA 2023 World Cup qualifying game against Finland on Thursday.
Larsson played a limited role early in UA's 2021-22 season but grew into a significant factor off the bench as the season progressed, finishing with averages of 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds. Larsson was also one of the Wildcats' best defenders, sometimes even guarding opponents' power forwards.
This summer, Larsson rejoined the national team for its latest camp and made the team, traveling to Finland for Thursday's game.
Markkanen, meanwhile, will be making a long-awaited return to Finland's national team after a four-year absence. According to Finland's Hufvudstadsbladet (HBL) newspaper, an agreement was being negotiated with the NBA that will allow Markkanen to play for Finland in the World Cup qualifiers and in the European Championships next fall.
"The desire to represent the national team again is great," Markkanen said, according to a translated HBL story. "It's been a while since the last time and we have -- as usual -- a really good group of players."
Markkanen played one season for the Wildcats as a freshman in 2016-17, when he became a first-team all Pac-12 pick. He then became the highest-drafted player ever from Finland when the Chicago Bulls took him with the No. 7 overall spot in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Markkanen played four seasons for the Bulls, who dealt him to Cleveland last August as part of a sign-and-trade deal that gave him a four-year, $67 million contract. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds over 61 games for the Cavaliers last season.
The winner of the Group C Finland-Sweden game will clinch a spot in the second qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup. With two games remaining in the first round entering Thursday, Finland is in first place in Group C at 3-1, while Finland and Slovenia are tied for second at 2-2, and Croatia is in fourth place at 1-3.
