Basketball in Africa

By Joshua Odeyemi
No fewer than 600 kids are presently taking part in the 2014 edition of Mark D Ball basketball clinic, an official has said.
The coordinator of the programme, Obande Ogbole told Daily Trust on Saturday at the Otukpo basketball arena that the kids were drawn from all over the country.
"There are above 600 kids here up from 300 last year," he said.
The clinic is divided into two categories, the teenagers and the minors.
The Programme coordinator who said there won't be any coach from the USA to train the kids this year, expressed confidence in the ability of the local ones.
"This year, no international coach is coming because of the political situation in the country but the local coaches will do well."
He said since the inception of the programme, tons of kids have been identified and moved up the basketball ladder.
"At the just concluded Milo basketball championship, all the kids of Jesus College of Otukpo who won the competition in Lagos, came from 'Mark D Ball'," Ogbole noted.
He also added that a lot of the kids identified at 'Mark D Ball' have traveled out to pursue their carrier in basketball.
Basically, the kids at this year's edition will be taught the basics of basketball which includes shooting, blocking, passing, movement on the ball, guarding amongst others.
The clinic which started Saturday afternoon, 27th December 2014 will end on Wednesday 31st December, 2014.