Was Omaha Biliew’s trip overseas a success? In short, yes.

Biliew finished his journey on the world stage over the weekend by helping Team USA earn fourth place at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup. The competition was a rollercoaster for Biliew, as he had varied success along the way.

Biliew displayed his great defensive awareness in pool play and helped fuel the offense early in the tournament. His best game came against Japan in the quarterfinals where he scored 15 points.

Team USA dominated Japan in the game to win 105-61 en route to the semifinals. Biliew also put up three rebounds along with his team-leading 15 points.

The matchup against Japan was what Iowa State fans expected of Biliew, and it was a good first look at how he can take over a game.

It’s tough to be the star of the show in an international tournament, especially when on a team with fellow top players in the nation. However, Biliew became the star Friday against Japan.

Unfortunately, Biliew couldn’t keep that momentum rolling as Team USA had a tough test against France the very next day. They came up just short losing 89-86 to the eventual second-place team.

In the third-place match Sunday, Team USA came away with its biggest loss of the tournament against Turkey 84-70. There was a common theme in the way Team USA picked up its fourth-place finish.

In both of the losses, Biliew hardly touched the court; he played less than 10 minutes in each of the last two games—-although he didn’t have much choice against Turkey as he picked up five fouls relatively quickly.

The loss to France looked to be an off day for Biliew as he picked up just one rebound and one assist.

However, despite the loss, Biliew came back against Turkey and put up five points, which was the highest of any player that played less than 20 minutes. He also put up three rebounds and two assists along the way.

Although Biliew was hot and cold throughout his World Cup journey, the experience he gained on the world stage is invaluable. Not many collegiate athletes can say they’ve played in the World Cup.

Biliew got a chance to see varying play styles from around the world, which should help develop his defense even further. He was also asked to be creative around the rim, as many teams don’t give much room for error at the international level.

With teams like France and Spain starting to catch up to the U.S., world experience is great for player development. Training alone and getting in-game reps are much different.

When the time comes for Biliew to hit the court with his fellow Cyclones, he will now have a new way of looking at the game. Biliew was expected to be dominant before, but now there’s no telling how good he will be.

Even with a couple rough games, Biliew still got the chance to compete and gain experience on the world stage. When all is said and done, it was a success for the young Cyclone.