Devine Eke had his BAL doubts but cousin Chiney Ogwumike stepped in

Hall of Fame center Otto Mr Raider dies at 86

When two-time WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike advised her cousin, Nigeria men's national team (D'Tigers) small forward Devine Eke, to sign for Rivers Hoopers in the Basketball Africa League (BAL), he was not without his doubts.

Eke was playing for Bosnia's OKK Sloboda Tuzla and it was far from a certainty that he would have time to make his way to Africa to play for the Port Harcourt-based side. His love for Nigeria is beyond question, but he wanted to be part of a competitive team.

In recent years, both Rivers Hoopers in 2021 and fellow Nigerian side Kwara Falcons in 2023 had failed to make the BAL playoffs, by some margin too.

Nigerian basketball has had several problems on the governance front in recent years. For one, Rivers Hoopers were disqualified from the 2022 BAL as a result of interference in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) by their national sports ministry.

However, the success of Rivers Hoopers this year as they've all but qualified for the playoffs - funded by the Rivers State government - is an example of how dominant Nigeria can be when the fundamentals are taken care of.

Eke told ESPN: "Yeah [I had doubts about joining], because I was playing somewhere else as well, but I finished that league and [Ogwumike] kept telling me about this league.

"It's a great league and she hasn't lied about [anything] she said, so I'm happy I listened to her and I'm happy that I came here.

"I do [think Nigeria can dominate African basketball in years to come]. From here on forth, Nigeria is here to stay and we no dey carry last (strive for nothing less than excellence)!"

Even for general manager Ifie Ozaka, Rivers Hoopers' dominance at the Sahara Conference in Dakar has come as somewhat of a surprise.

"Definitely, we've surprised ourselves at this tournament - I can tell you that. The goal coming here was to qualify for Rwanda, but doing it the way we are doing it is even a surprise to ourselves," Ozaka told ESPN.

However, surprising as it may be, it is no accident. The team's recruitment has been well-organised and they prepared properly in Port Harcourt for the tournament. It is not unusual for BAL teams to have disrupted preparation, with players arriving on the eve of the tournament or even after it has begun. In this regard, Rivers Hoopers made sure they were ahead of the curve this year.

Head coach Ogoh ​​Odaudu is well-respected in Nigerian basketball, but he has been eager to share the praise for the team's success. Apart from Ozaka, who he says shared responsibility for recruitment with him, Odaudu credits the Rivers State government for investing in the team.

"I'd just like to say that the Rivers State government is totally responsible for the success of this team. We are one of the few teams that are really funded well and we don't lack much. Once you have the resources, you can build a team together like this and that's exactly what we did, so it's their team," Odaudu said in the post-Monastir press conference.

There is evidence to support Odaudu's claims that Rivers State takes sport seriously. On the football front, both men's team Rivers United and women's team Rivers Angels have brought league titles to Port Harcourt within the last three years.

There is now real potential for Rivers Hoopers to be champions of more than only Nigeria - although it is still a stretch to suggest that they are favourites for the BAL title.

No team in the BAL has a roster with quite as much depth as reigning champions Al Ahly of Egypt. However, what Rivers Hoopers undoubtedly have is a group of team players. In their first three games, Eke, Will Perry and Kelvin Amayo have all taken turns leading the scoring.

"I just want to say I'm truly proud of the bigs, the guards, the coaching staff and the people on the bench. We all fought through; we put up a good three wins and I'm proud of everybody. We all played together," Nigerian-Canadian guard Amayo said in the post-match press conference after posting 30 points and 9 assists against Monastir.

"This is something I always dreamed of. My mother is Nigerian, my father's Nigerian. I always wanted to play for Nigeria. When I got the opportunity to come and they said they wanted to bring me in, I think I trained so hard. Even through Ramadan, I took three days and it's shown - we came here focused.

"Everybody's focused. Will Perry is focused, Devine Eke is focused, John Wilkins, the coaching staff. Everybody is super locked in. We're just taking it day by day and working hard."

It is almost a certainty at this point that Rivers Hoopers will be at the playoffs in Kigali (May 24 - June 1). On Thursday against conference hosts AS Douanes, they can officially seal their place.

In fact, if Rwanda's APR beat Monastir in the early tip-off, Rivers Hoopers will qualify even before they take to the court, despite the fact that they are only halfway through the Sahara Conference.

Eke and Amayo are examples of how deep Nigeria's talent pool can be if they can invest resources into creating a conducive environment for decorated players among their vast diaspora, enticing them to come home.

It has been nine years since D'Tigers won AfroBasket in Tunisia, with funding issues and a ban from national government that was implemented and reversed in 2022 damaging their hard-earned reputation as a dominant force in Africa.

However, if the resurgence at club level is anything to go by, then once the fundamentals of team preparation are taken care of, Nigeria's days in the wilderness are unlikely to last.