With the recent commendable the rise in youth basketball programmes in Nigeria, which has directly influenced the success of national U-16 teams and the resurfacing of Nigeria as a powerhouse in Africa.
The ancient city of Ibadan with a rich history of basketball will on Saturday 30th January 2016 be added to the conveyor belt of talent production as one of the former players of the Oluyole Warriors basketball club in the 80’s, Barr. Damola Awosika launches the Hoops Dreams Basketball Academy.
President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Mr. Tijjani Umar thanked the initiator of the programme, Barr. Damola Awosika for his proactiveness and drive to build a structure that will sustain youth development and talent discovery in the State and the South West sub-region, adding to the Youth Alive basketball programmes exsisting in Lagos and recently extended to Ekiti State last year.
Mr Umar said “I acknowledge the opening of the Hoops Dreams Academy in Ibadan. I am excited about this and i hope to do everything within my power to support your vision as a federation”.
The Academy which will cater to atleast 200 kids, teaching fundamentals of the game of basketball and supplying equipments to kids from as little as 6-18 years of age, drives to produce the next big stars for Nigeria at the youth level whom will hopefully graduate to the Senior national teams.
Barr. Awosika said the discovery of Nigerian youth sensation Charles Bassey, now making waves in the US, courtesy the Youth Alive Basketball programme in Lagos motivated the Hoops Dreams Academy.
” We have kids everywhere who have talent to play basketball big time, we just have to create opportunities and a structured, sustainable programme to teach them the right basics and monitor their progress.
Damola Awosika who is also one of the directors of the Youth Alive Programme in Lagos, also revealed the lack of developmental programmes in his boyhood home motivated his choice of Ibadan.
“Having been part of the lagos Youth Alive programme and witnessing the results it is producing, I felt Oyo State is almost being left out of the rising tide of youth basketball development programmes in Nigeria. I was motivated to go back and contribute to Ibadan where I grew up and played basketball to the level of representing Oluyole Warriors in the Premier league”
newfanzone 