Former Spartan Mounir Benzegala Agrees To Professional Contract

TAMPA, Fla. - Former University of Tampa men's basketball player Mounir Benzegala has agreed to a contract with Ittihad Tripoli, a professional team in Libya that represents the country's largest club.

"Traditionally Ittihad Tripoli expects to be playing for a league championship every year and as a rookie point guard I am looking forward to that challenge and opportunity," says Benzegala. "Whenever you go from collegiate to professional basketball there are some challenges that you have to be aware of as a player. But with every challenge is an opportunity to rise."

Benzegala will play in his first game with Ittihad Tripoli on Thursday.

"I am expected to bring leadership and intensity everyday along with the responsibility of playing hard-nosed defense, distributing the ball and scoring," states Benzegala. "Being talented at this level is not enough because everyone has talent, so to separate myself is going to be important to be the first and last player in the gym. When all of your friends are going out and having fun, I will be in the gym perfecting my game, which are the sacrifices you have to make in order to play at this level."

The team is currently tied for third place with a 7-2 overall record. He will play alongside former collegiate player Augustine Okuson (Seton Hall), who also played in the4 NBDL with the Austin Toros.

Benzegala is currently competing with the Algerian National Team, awaiting confirmation for the summer Olympic qualifying games. Current collegiate players joining Benzegala on the national team include Mehdi Cheriet (San Diego State), Hichem Benayad (IUPFW) and Mohammed Essshir (USF).

With the national team, Benzegala played in two Arab championships and the African qualification contest against Morocco, which consisted of back-to-back games. In his first Arabic championship in 2009, he led the team in scoring, assists, steals and 3-point field goal percentage.

In the 2010 Arab championships, his team finished in fourth place and defeated champion Egypt in pool play, a game where Benzegala scored 16 points with four assists. He also hit a game-winning fade-away 3-pointer from the corner with one minute left to give his team a three point lead.

Benzegala also played the African qualification, which consisted of two games against Morocco in Morocco. They lost both games, as he led the team in scoring during the first game with 15 points and also had five assists. The team will be competing in the upcoming Arab games in the summer and possibly the African championships.

"There is nothing more honorable than to have the opportunity to play for your country and I will continue to do so for as long as I am asked to participate," says Benzegala. "We have not played in a world championship or Olympic event since 2002 and I would like to be part of restoring Algerian Basketball to its highest prestige. With the likely arrival of former NCAA Division I player Mohamed Esseghir and two current Division I players, (Mehdi Cheriet and Hichem Benayad), the potential is very high."

A University of Tampa graduate, Benzegala played for the Spartans from 2007-10. He started 17 games for UT in the 2009-10 season, averaging 9.1 points. He also had 39 assists and 13 steals while shooting at a 41.9 percent clip from 3-point range. In two seasons, he played in 39 games for Tampa and scored 207 total points.