cwossabasketball.com's Top 15 of the Last Decade (*): #5 Imad Qahwash, Central Arkansas

Imad Qahwash (Grand River '06) was one of the fiercest competitors I've seen in the last few years on a CWOSSA basketball court.

He had a solid all-around game ---- great defender, nice passer, and he could also score the ball. He improved his shooting stroke tremendously over his career, even though he could get by you almost at will.

He helped lead Grand River to their first ever OFSAA appearance in 2006 (finishing 2nd to KCI in the CWOSSA AAAA championship), and along with Bobby Colorado almost helped lead the Rens to an upset win over #5 West Hill. In the second round against #2 Pickering, Qahwash had no fear in attacking a top-notch GTA program --- if I recall correctly, he had about half of the Rens' points in a low scoring affair (where Pickering held the ball for 1:30 - 2:00 at a time during the second half to try to bring GRCI out of their zone).

After high school, he initially signed with Jacksonville University out of the Atlantic Sun conference. However, as mentioned in a 2007 Record article, when he found out he was going to redshirt the first year, he decided to explore other opportunities.

He landed at Harmony Prep School in Cincinnati, and played alongside a bunch of other NCAA prospects (i.e. Alex Tyus - Florida). The team won a Prep School National Championship, and the experience enabled Qahwash to continue to raise his game and attract the attention of a variety of NCAA schools. Eventually, he accepted a D-1 scholarship to the University of Central Arkansas out of the Southland Conference.

Qahwash, who has dual citizenship with Jordan, was also able to play for the Jordanian National Team overseas during the last couple of summer breaks.

This year at UCA, Qahwash (now a junior) averaged 6.4 PPG and 4.9 rebounds per game --- surprising rebounding numbers for a 6'2" PG. He also dished out 2.5 assists and had 1.1 steals per contest.

Here's a highlight video from his efforts this season: