LINCOLN – Nebraska forward Rienk Mast will look to help the Netherlands qualify for the 2024 Olympics later this summer, as he has been invited to join the senior national team for the first time since 2019.
Mast, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, will be with the national team from late July until following the team’s FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul (Aug. 13-20). The schedule includes national team camp as well as exhibitions against Israel (Aug. 4) and Ukraine (Aug. 7). The teams in the Netherlands pool in Istanbul includes Sweden (Aug. 13), Belgium (Aug. 14) and Croatia (Aug. 16). The semifinals are set for Aug. 18 with the finals set for Aug. 20.
Mast will be making his second senior National Team appearance and first since 2019. He played in the 2019 Basketball World Cup qualifier averaging 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in three contests. He also played for the Netherlands at the U18 and U16 levels earlier in his career.
Mast is the second Husker selected for his nation’s national team camp this week, joining Keisei Tominaga, who was named to Japan’s roster on Monday.
Last year at Bradley, Mast earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, leading the school in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg) while shooting 51 percent from the floor and 35 percent from 3-point range. He ranked second in the MVC in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage and 11th in scoring, as he finished third in voting for MVC Player of the Year. Mast totaled nine double-doubles, including 14 points and 12 rebounds in Bradley’s NIT loss to Wisconsin. He had a career-high 30-point effort against Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament.