Cal Poly guard joins Calipari’s Olympic quest

You may not know the name Amaurys Fermin. The senior has been part of a rebuilding process at Cal Poly under coach Joe Callero for the past four years, helping the team go from a 7-win cellar-dweller in the Big West to an 18-game winner this past season. Things were getting better under Fermin’s floor generalship, but the school fell short of it’s ultimate goal - an inaugural appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Fermin is not yet done with his lofty goals, however. He’s just been named as part of the Dominican Republic national team, famously coached by national title-toting John Calipari. Fermin was born in the DR before his family moved to the Bronx. He led the Big West in assists in his senior season, dropping 119 dimes and leading the Mustang attack.

The Dominican team has one last-ditch shot at getting to London, as described by the Cal Poly athletics website:

To reach the country’s first Olympic tournament, the Dominican Republic will have to grab one of the three final qualification spots at the 12-nationFIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, scheduled for July 2-8 in Caracas, Venezuela. The Dominican Republic was drawn into Group C alongside Russia and South Korea. The top-two finishers in each of the four three-team groups advance to the quarterfinals. The champion, runner-up and third-place nation will complete the Olympic tournament field.

Fermin joined the team late because he was focused on finishing up his history degree at Cal Poly. Now that he’s got all that book-learning in his head, he can focus on making a little history for his birth nation.

(photo: Cal Poly athletics)

Eric Angevine is the editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets at @stfhoops.