The NBA Academy Africa’s hard work is bearing fruit like never before this year, with Khaman Maluach likely to be a top 10 draft pick this year and Rueben Chinyelu a reigning national champion with Florida.
Back home in Africa, Nigeria’s 17-year-old phenom Ike David Ugonna (Rivers Hoopers) is aiming to follow in their footsteps at the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Maluach, Chinyelu and Toronto Raptors‘ Ulrich Chomche — who last year became the first NBA Africa academy product drafted into the NBA — have left big shoes to fill in the BAL.
After his impressive performance last year and subsequent Defensive MVP Award at Basketball Without Borders Africa in Johannesburg, Ugonna stands out as one young talent who can follow in their footsteps.
Ugonna had an impressive debut season for Rivers Hoopers at last year’s BAL, averaging 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
A 6-foot-10 center, the teen showed flashes of brilliance from the beginning, but only hit full stride later in the tournament. Notable performances came against APR in Dakar, where he picked up 8 boards, and in his two double-digit point games at the playoffs, scoring 11 against AS Douanes and 10 against Al Ahly Benghazi.
Rivers Hoopers lost to Ahly Benghazi in the semi-finals, but beat Cape Town Tigers in the third-placed playoff. Once again, Ugonna was superb with 10 rebounds against the South African side.
This season, albeit with limited minutes, he was relied upon slightly less during the group phase, but still averaged a respectable 4.7 points and 3.2 rebounds.
“From back home in Nigeria, I have family back home, so I’m trying to do what I can out here to try get to the league (the NBA) and help them,” Ugonna told ESPN ahead of the BAL playoffs in Pretoria.
“I started playing basketball in 2020. My parents [are my inspiration]. Right now, things in Nigeria are really hard, so they inspire me to keep going so I can help them in the future.
“It’s an honour for me, playing in the BAL. I have to come out and compete and represent my country any way I can.”
Ugonna is taking inspiration from watching his peers from the NBA Academy Africa playing in the USA: “I’ve learned to follow in their footsteps… I hope I’ll be next.”
There is no doubt he is one of the most talented Nigerian prospects of his generation – up there with Chinyelu and Ugonna Onyenso. Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu said that there are many more talents like Ugonna waiting in the wings for their chance to shine.
“Rueben was also a player in the Basketball Africa League. He’s in the States, playing college basketball now. The first time he played for the national team in one of the World Cup qualifying windows, he was [a similar] age too and he put up a great performance like that,” Odaudu said in a press conference.
“There are quite a lot of kids like that who play basketball. It’s like a way of life in Nigeria. You go to the stadium even though facilities are not top notch. You’re going to see a lot of kids out there playing on a hard surface, throwing a basketball around. This is just the beginning. You are going to see a lot more.”
Rivers Hoopers will face US Monastir on June 7 as they battle for the third seed at the BAL Playoffs. The winner will face the loser of the game for the fifth seed between Petro de Luanda and Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) and vice-versa.
The BAL playoffs and final will air on ESPN’s channels in Africa (DStv 218 and 219, Starsat 248) and local affiliates.
