The 10th edition of the Aminu Good Works Foundation Nigeria Basketball Combine ended on Sunday at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, with Precious Jude and Ajibade Abraham emerging as the Most Valuable Players.
The three-day event, which began on Friday, also produced a 14-player First Team comprising male and female prospects.
A total of 150 young players, including 100 boys and 50 girls, participated in the combine, with most drawn from Oyo State. Fifteen coaches also took part, with each responsible for 10 players.
Speaking to at the venue, Nigerian basketball icon and foundation founder Aminu Al-Farouq said the initiative was driven by his desire to contribute to the development of his country.
“It was a higher power. I just felt called to give back. And I felt I had the ability to do it. I had a calling to want to be back to my Nigerian roots. I realised that this is something that I’m obviously very passionate about. It’s been 10 years now and I’m going to continue to be passionate about it. I have a team and I believe that we’re primed to do some amazing things,” Al-Farouq said.
“I remember initially I just played for the national team, but the overall goal initially was always to have Nigeria basketball go to the Olympics and have us just on a national scale. That’s how I thought of it at first. And then after coming, you realise that basketball is just a small portion of the things that are needed for sure,” he added.
Reflecting on the foundation’s work since it was established in 2016, the former NBA player attributed its progress to sustained commitment.
“I would say just consistency right now. Yes, I think we missed one year and that was because of COVID. But yes, obviously, unless we can’t fly, we usually do the event for sure.
“The type of things that I wanted to see, I would say that it took a little bit of time because I had a full-time job at the time.”
“It was hard to just give this all of my focus. Now that I’m done playing and I needed some time even after that, it’s a big lifestyle change and I had to adjust,” Al-Farouq said.
He said the camp was tagged “Who is Chief?” as part of efforts to identify the next standout talent among the participants.
“That’s why I named the camp, ‘Who is the Chief?’ I want to find out who’s the next Chief? Who’s going to be that next kid who does their own stuff and becomes everything they need to become?” he said.
The combine will move to Abuja for its next phase, scheduled for August 13 to 16.
