Basketball in Africa

by Salifu Usman
Abuja

The chief coach of the Nigeria's junior basketball team, Adeka Daudu has attributed the deteriorated state of basketball in the country to poor planning and lack of a clear cut culture on the part of those who run the game in the country.

Daudu, who stated this while lamenting on the pains of Nigeria's female and male teams failure to qualify for the forthcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, said unless adequate steps are taken to curb the situation, Nigeria will continue to flop at international meets.
"It pains me so much that for the first time in several years, we will not have a single Nigeria's team at the Olympics basketball event. The women are not going to be there and the men too. Its just a confirmation that Nigeria's basketball is on the way down.

Nigeria will continue to flop at international competitions until issues are properly tackled by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF)," he noted.
Daudu however, dismissed erroneous impressions that Nigeria's coaches lack tactical know- how of the game to help the course of the game in the country.
"Nigeria's coaches can compete favourable with their foreign counterpart from any where in the world if given equal opportunities. Coaches like Ayo Bakare and many others have done this nation proud than any employed foreign coach. The problem is management and not local coaches," he added.