Which foreign country was most responsible for Iran's basketball team qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
It may be hard to believe, but it's the United States.
Yes ... those United States of America - the Great Satan, the hated enemy, the political nemesis who is on the verge of threatening Iran with war over a nuclear dispute.
As it turns out, the spirit of sports has once again overcome all boundaries and a group of courageous Americans have turned Iran into a basketball superpower in the Asian world.
Washington A Pioneer In Iran
It all goes back to Eddie Washington, the first American to play professional basketball in Iran in 2000. Since then the number of former college players to ply their trade in the country more known as a member of the "Axis of Evil" than its basketball status has drastically risen. And it reached its highest point during the 2005-06 season, when 37 Americans were active on Iranian club rosters.
"It's clear from a basketball standpoint that these men were excellent. But from a cultural and personal standpoint, they were model residents," said Nosratollah Jafarian, the Iran Basketball Federation's secretary general.
Agent Bagheri Helps Calm Concerns
When offered a basketball job in Iran, most American are initially skeptical and need convincing. One of the men responsible for bringing Americans to the Islamic Republic is Houman Bagheri - Iran's first certified basketball agent.
"Whenever anybody has questions I always have them talk to one of the Americans playing in Iran right now," Bagheri said.
One of those individuals was Andre Pitts, a former guard at Division III school Houston-Tillotson, who won one Iranian Superleague title during his two years of playing in Iran.
"Back home, everyone is worried how I get by in a 'dangerous' country. But I tell them it is a beautiful country and the people are great," said Pitts, who now plays in Kuwait and has also played in Lebanon, Syria and United Arab Emirates.
"I tell them, If you come out here you wouldn't ever want to go back the way they treat you."
Marsh Went Back to Iran Twice
One American to play three years in Iran was Chicago native and Tulane University alum Waitari Marsh.
"From my first experience with the Iranian people and what I saw on the inside, they're good people. I never experienced any hostility whatsoever. Everybody treated me as if I was one of them. I never experienced any bad talk," said Marsh.
The point guard Marsh even had the full support of his mother, who said she was happy about him going to Iran.
"I grew up on the inner-city streets of Chicago, which is by no means one of the safest places in the world. In that regard, she felt I could face more harm and danger in the streets of Chicago than while I am in Iran. So Iran might be a safer place than the environment that I grew up in," explained Marsh.
Americans Look Past Stereotypes About Iran
Washington, Pitts and Marsh are just a couple of the Americans who decided to look past the stereotypes and news coverage that they knew of Iran and experience first hand what it was like there.
And their presence has been a huge boost for the sport in Iran, where basketball still today lags behind soccer, wrestling and volleyball on the country's sports landscape. The likes of Washington, Pitts and Marsh helped Iranians see how the game is played while also forcing them to improve their level of performance to compete with and against the Americans.
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