Nigeria - Basketball programs in Africa helping forge talent pipeline

From chicagosports.chicagotribune.com
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Arriving in the United States from Senegal, Aziz Ndiaye rode from O'Hare Airport to Lake Forest Academy and was astonished by the view from his passenger window. Every driveway, schoolyard and park he passed seemed to have a basketball hoop.

"It's a lot different here," Ndiaye said. "There is a basketball court everywhere you look. Basketball is not that popular in Senegal. I would play soccer all the time."

A 7-foot-1-inch teenager, Ndiaye is not easily overlooked. But, like many boys in Africa, Ndiaye easily could have been if his size hadn't earned him invitations to a Basketball Without Borders camp and SEEDS Academy, two programs with NBA ties that are working to develop basketball in Africa.

The continent is recognized as a gold mine for untapped talent, and efforts to popularize the sport have made headway. For evidence check the NCAA tournament, in which several teams will rely on African-born players—88 were on Division I rosters this season.

But many challenges confront those who aspire to follow in the sizable footsteps of African-born NBA players such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo and Luol Deng, as well as those who would assist them.

Africa as a whole lacks infrastructure, interest and cohesive systems for developing youth sports programs. Soccer is the sport of choice on the continent, and it's difficult for any sport to gain a foothold in nations so ravaged by war and grinding poverty that mere survival is the top priority.

"For kids to play soccer, they just go out in a field and put two stones down for a goal and play," said Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian who is the Toronto Raptors' director of global scouting. "In Africa, we use gyms for churches, weddings, kids to play in every day. There are very few facilities. That's the part we're working hard on now."

Ujiri started the Top 50 Big Man Camp five years ago and serves as a director for Basketball Without Borders Africa.

"It's getting much better, but it's not a priority sport," he said.

From no good to D-I

Basketball Without Borders usually targets players as young as 14, but in Africa the plan is to get them started younger. Ujiri says that's the key to cultivating talent so players with the potential to play at a high level have less catch-up time.

"The earlier you can start, the better," said Amadou Gallo Fall, the Dallas Mavericks' vice president of international affairs and the founder of SEEDS, which stands for Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal. "The motivation is to keep kids in school so they can pursue athletic and educational opportunities."

Fall stresses that "99 percent" of SEEDS athletes will not become NBA millionaires, but he hopes they will still use basketball as a means to an education they can use to improve their lives and help someday in Africa.

"What we really want is a global outreach from the grass-roots level," Fall said.

Kene Obi, a 7-2 Nigerian center at DePaul, was invited to the NBA's first Africa 100 camp in South Africa in 2003.

Obi lacked experience and even a team, unless you count the buddies who tried to teach him dribbling and layups at one of the few courts in Nigeria. Despite his imposing size, "I was not very good," Obi acknowledges.

Even so, Obi had a name in African basketball circles, and it spread after he played at the camp.

"I'm tall, you know," Obi said. "They were talking about my height."

That camp made the difference for Obi, who has traversed three continents to arrive in Chicago at a Division I basketball program.

"I started thinking about basketball all the time," Obi said, "and how I wanted to go to America."


'Don't forget about us'
While boys like Obi and Ndiaye have found opportunity through developmental programs, African girls usually must find ways to excel on their own.


Despite growing interest in basketball among African females, Basketball Without Borders and SEEDS do not offer specific programs for girls, and there are fewer camps for girls than boys. SEEDS plans to become coeducational, Fall said.

And there are signs pointing to a breakthrough.

"In 2000 and 2001, [Nigeria] focused on the boys much more," said Aisha Mohammed, a 6-3 center for the University of Virginia women's team who played on Nigeria's Olympic team. "Now when I came back to Nigeria, the girls were saying, 'Don't forget about us. You need to help us.' I said if I have the ability, I will."

American-born Olayinka Sanni, who has dual citizenship because of her Nigerian-born parents, was stunned comparing the abundance of opportunity, facilities and even apparel at Homewood-Flossmoor High and now at West Virginia with what was available when she played for Nigeria's national team.

"There was only one facility," Sanni said. "We had to fight for practice time and share with the men's team, the wrestling team and the tae kwon do teams. It was very different."

There was one other difference: the fans.

Nigeria became the first African women's team to win an Olympic basketball game in 2004, which is akin to the inspiration generated by the U.S. women's soccer team winning gold in 2000.

"The women have accomplished a lot," Sanni said. "I think they cherished the women's team a little more."



The next step
Ujiri can relate to the players he is trying to help.

Though he played basketball at Montana State and professionally in Europe, he says he will always be better with a soccer ball.

He understands that without some prodding, players like Ndiaye might not even attempt to dribble, let alone take a shot at playing in college or the NBA.

Ndiaye, 19, grudgingly began playing basketball just five years ago at his uncle's incessant urging that his height was being wasted on soccer.

"It didn't interest me," Ndiaye said. "But as I gained skills, I started to think I could be good."

Nate Pomeday, Lake Forest Academy's assistant dean of admissions, assistant basketball coach and a former Northwestern player, met Ndiaye when he visited Senegal in an attempt to form a relationship with SEEDS, which he learned of through former NU teammate Evan Eschmeyer, who befriended Fall when Eschmeyer played for the Mavericks. It was not long before Ndiaye knew where to take his next step.

At Lake Forest Academy, his first American team, Ndiaye averaged 9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3 blocks and attracted attention from several Division I coaches, although he will attend junior college next season. College of Southern Idaho and three schools in Texas are among those he is considering.

His game is still raw, but Ndiaye has improved dramatically after his training at SEEDS and the academy. His expectations have shot up commensurately.

"My goal is to play in the NBA and wherever I go to be a positive man," Ndiaye said.

He wears a dog tag with the outline of Africa around his neck. Says Ndiaye: "I want my basketball career to get me a lot of experience and success in my life."