Al-Farouq Aminu arrives when Nigeria needs him most

Al-Farouq Aminu played his role in the background in Nigeria’s opening game at the FIBA World Cup. Until they needed him to step up late. there he excelled.

Nigeria was trailing all game, digging a double-digit deficit in the first quarter. Turnovers and poor shot selection and inattentive defense were hurting the team and forced them to scramble.

They slowly worked their way back in behind Josh Okogie and shooting from their other young guards.

Nigeria started hitting their shots and the deficit shrank. They took an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter when the troubles began again — 21 total turnovers in a game that was ultimately sloppy for both teams.

In a tie game with two minutes, Al-Farouq Aminu, the veteran wing for Nigeria used primarily for his defense and relatively quiet to that point, was the guy Nigeria turned to. They needed stability and patience in a game that featured a fair amount of one-pass possessions, step-back jumpers and turnovers.

This is the security blanket that Al-Farouq Aminu can provide. Ask him to do the right thing and he will deliver.

He tied the game at the foul line on one possession, using a dribble drive to force contact. On the next possession, he tied the game again with a tough layup over a taller player. Then he stepped into the passing lane, deflecting an entry pass to the post and taking it the other way before a turnover again began unraveling Nigeria.

In the last minute of play, Nigeria struggled to get offensive traction. Okogie took an unsportsmanlike technical foul. And the game ultimately was decided when Josh Okogie missed a layup with the team down two and Al-Farouq Aminu fouled Andrey Vorontsevich on the rebound.

The game was essentially sinched then as Russia defeated Nigeria 82-77 in the first game for each team at the FIBA World Cup.

It was a critical game in Group B with Argentina looming for each team. Nigeria faces a must-win against the perennial South American powerhouse Monday.

Aminu finished with 10 points on 2-for-4 shooting, hitting six of his eight free throws. He added five rebounds and two steals. He committed three turnovers, two on fairly ambitious passes in the first half as he tried flexing his playmaking ability.

But it was overall a quiet game for Aminu for three quarter.

A lot of what Aminu does is quiet. He is not one to impose his will on a game. He might be Nigeria’s most consistent player, but not the one who takes all the shots. They have a host of guards willing to do that. And like in the NBA, Aminu is not getting a lot of offense run for him or through him.

Aminu has made a living in the NBA locking out his man defensively and filling in the gaps. He knows what his team needs and finds a way to do the right thing it seems on every possession he is involved in.

That was true early in the game when he tried driving to create some movement in the defense and kicked it out to the safe play. That was true as he played defense throughout the game.

But when the game started to matter, Nigeria turned to Aminu to create and to make things happen. They turned to him to stabilize the team and make the right play to deliver a win. And he largely did that. Nigeria would not make the plays in the final moments and their defense struggled to keep Russia off the foul line.

Relying on Aminu to take over a game is probably not a formula to win.

Still, Aminu was there when Nigeria needed him. He was there playing his role and being a consistent presence and he was ready when the moment called for him.

It was clear good things happened when he was involved in the play and when he was on the court. He was a critical piece to Nigeria having a chance to win the game.

This is much the same as his role will be with the Orlando Magic. It is clear he is a positive influencer on the teams he plays for. He will not play outside of his role or his abilities and he will perform that role at a high level.

Having a player like this likely coming off the bench is going to provide a lot of stability to the team throughout the year. He will be able to initiate some offense and smartly take guys off the dribble to create holes for teammates to exploit.

Aminu is a player who perfectly fits in wherever he is. And when his team needs him to do more, he certainly can step up and do it.

The Magic should feel they are in good hands whenever Aminu is on the court. They certainly will not rely on him as heavily as Nigeria is in this tournament.

For Nigeria, it was not enough though. The team made too many mistakes throughout the game and did not show enough poise down the stretch. Their young players seemed to come unglued as the pressure ramped up.

That was not true for Aminu. And that is what the Magic can take from their new acquisition.

Even in a disappointing loss.