₦airaland Forum

We face a very tough task ahead, USA, France, Argentina, Lithuania, Tunisia, many experts are expecting us to come bottom in the group, but what do you guys think, read the preview here http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/olympic-games-preview-tunisa.html#more

What do you guys think, go with who got you there, or bring in others to make the team stronger.

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/nigerias-selection-headache.html

...spin move..drop step..right hand..left hand..hook shot..jump shot..fade way...turnaround jump shot..three pointer...three again, and did I say spin move...With the way this article started, you would have thought I was about to start an epistle on Mr. Hakeem Olajuwon (or at least I hoped so), but no, I’m detailing the variety of moves from Ike Diogu’s repertoire, he might not have shown us his rendition of the famous Dream shake, but he sure stirred the Nigerian team to their first ever Olympic basketball tournament in its entire history, and as a result, the Diogu story is one that must be told.

Ike Diogu was born and raised in Garland , Texas on the 11th of September 1983. Just like most Nigerians in America today, his parents had emigrated to the US to become teachers in the early 80’s. Ike has two older brothers who played college football, Eric at Tennessee as part of the 1998 national-champion Volunteers, and Eddie at Texas, he also has a sister called love. Diogu started off as an American football player, but quickly switched to basketball because of his size, he learnt the game quickly and became a dominant force in the paint. An appearance in the local AAU circuit saw his stock rise as scouts across the country started taking notes. Ike Diogu joined Arizona State in the 2002-03 season. He immediately put his stamp on the team in his first season by averaging 19 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, earning him freshman of the year honours. Diogu went on to average 21.4 points per game and 8.8 rebounds in his College career, earning himself Pac-10 honours in his last year. He continued to impress scouts with his back to the basket game, and when he entered the NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors took him at #9 that same year.

In Golden State, Diogu’s career did not flourish as it was supposed to, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers which led to further trades to Portland, Sacramento and New Orleans. At New Orleans, Diogu underwent micro fracture knee surgery and was never the same after that. He signed to the Detroit Pistons, but was later released. Diogu then got a last minute chance to play for the Clippers where he showed signs of rejuvenation, but he didn’t get a contract renewal forcing him to move again, he got a brief stint at San Antonio in January 2012 but he didn’t get signed Diogu then decided to leave the shores of America, and proceed to the Chinese league.

Everything changed for Diogu in June 2012, there is a Nigerian saying that says “when you stand with the blessings of your mother and God, it matters not who stands against you”. So when the Nigeria team came calling, he knew he had to answer the call, perfect timing timed perfectly, he would lead from the front, just like warriors do, forget High school Ike, College Ike, NBA Ike , this is Nigeria’s Ikechukwu Somto Diogu, Igbo Kwenu !!!! (okay got a bit carried away there)....He went with the team to China to start the revolution, just the perfect place, you know the Chinese have a way of getting people to reach their souls and all sorts. So after some serious soul searching ....oops I meant quality training, he leads the team to Venezuela, banging, blocking and scoring with the best of them, then came final game against Dominican Republic, all or nothing, do or die, he raises the bar, forget the pole vault, he carries his motherland on his back, role reversal, finished with 25 and 10, averaged 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in the tournament,....can I get an A-men ....spin move..drop step..right hand..left hand..hook shot..jump shot..fade way...turnaround jump shot..three pointer...three again, and did I say spin move...1st ever Olympic Appearance. Team Nigeria Appreciates.

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/ike-diogu-ambition.html

So Proud to be Nigerian right now, well desereved, I have followed the team from their training camps, and we have put in the work, just shows you that hard work pays off.

Follow the team here http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/kings-have-arrived.html

Latest update: Chamberlain Oguchi is out of tonight's game after re-injuring his shoulder, we will miss his three point shooting.

Biggysmalls919: hmmm, nigerians only know soccer when it comes to sports. Thats y we are now going to d olympic with some selected few athletes. As for our basket ball team. I believe they will beat dominican boyz because we had a good head to head score with russia compared to head to head of russia vs dominica. My view

Basketball is not that logical my friend

CARCAS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - International basketball is at long last seeing the best of Nigeria.

The country that gave the world Hakeem Olajuwon and also reached the knockout stages of 2006 FIBA World Championship has trailed in the wake of African brothers Angola over the eyars but in Caracas, Venezuela, this week, at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), the team coached by Ayo Bakare has put forth three stunning performances.

After impressing in a 71-69 defeat to hosts Venezuela, Nigeria bounced back to beat a couple of European superpowers in Lithuania (86-80) and Greece (80-79).

Heading into Saturday's Semi-Final showdown with Russia, Nigeria are a single victory away from a first-ever Olympic appearance.

Should Nigeria lose, they would play in Sunday's Final against the Dominican Republic or Lithuania.

In Venezuela, the Nigerians have played with passion, self-belief, determination and composure.

They possess one of the most athletic teams in the competition, and one that has played smart.

Two of the most athletics players in the team are the Aminu brothers, natives of Atlanta whose father is Nigerian.

Alade Aminu, 24, played American college basketball at Georgia Tech while Al-Farouq Aminu, 21, competed at Wake Forest in North Carolina.

Alade has been a professional in Europe, spending this past season with Elan Chalon in France where he won three trophies on the domestic front.

Al-Farouq plays in the NBA with the New Orleans Hornets.

In Nigerian, Al-Farouq means "The king has arrived" and really, that is exactly what has happened in Caracas.

When it comes to dazzling, above-the-rim plays, he lords it over everyone.

He has drawn many gasps and applause from the crowd.

On the opening night, Al-Farouq's Hornets' teammate Greivis Vasquez of Venezuela was understandably the main attraction but ever since, the sky-walking Al-Farouq has delivered one eye-opening play after another.

He loves playing for the country of his father.

"It's a great thing," he said to FIBA.com.

"My dad is Nigerian and a lot of my family are Nigerians so it really means a lot.

"Just to play FIBA and during the summer with these guys, and to play with my brother - it just means a lot to me."

Al-Farouq has averaged 13 points and 5.7 rebounds in his three games.

He got off to a shaky start against Venezuela, a game that Nigeria lost, 71-69.

But in an 86-80 victory over Lithuania and an 80-79 triumph over Greece, he hit a combined 11 of 22 shots from the floor, corralled 14 rebounds and blocked a shot.

The Nigerians have grown in this tournament, and that is especially true of Al-Farouq.

Against Venezuela, he tried to force his way into the game instead of allowing the game to come to him.

He made a couple of three-balls from three attempts but was four of 11 from the field overall and had three turnovers.

Defensively, Al-Farouq had two blocks but he wasn't happy with his performance.

"In the first game, I was just too excited," he said.

"It was my first time playing for the team on a big scale.

"I just wanted to do so well and my nerves got the best of me.

"FIBA basketball reminds me of college.

"Teams really pack it in and it makes it harder to get to the bucket when I slash and do things like that.

"But it's a good thing I have good teammates and they help me out."

"I felt like against Lithuania, I played like I always play."

In the six-point triumph over Lithuania, Al-Farouq was more patient on offense and finished with 16 points and nine boards.

Al-Farouq says Nigeria's players never doubted themselves after the loss to Venezuela.

"We knew it was our first time playing together," he said.

"We'd only been playing together for three weeks.

"I think it taught us a lot and helped us with this game.

"We go into every game thinking we're going to win it."

Whether it was on offense or defense, Nigeria never backed down against Lithuania, a team that has played in every Olympics since 1992.

"We felt like losing wasn't an option," Al-Farouq said.

"We just talked before the game about how much it meant to everybody and it showed."

Nigeria are now flying the flag for African Basketball.

"We're coming up," Al-Farouq said.

"We really want to make a mark.

"Hopefully we can get one of those spots for the Olympics."

While Nigeria can afford to lose to Russia on Saturday and still win Sunday's Final to reach the London Games, they did not have such a luxury against Lithuania or Greece.

A defeat in either of those games would have seen the national team fall out of contention for a spot in the Olympics.

"It was already do or die and we know we have to play with intensity and carry it over," Al-Farouq said.

No matter what happens the rest of the summer, the experience of Caracas will always be treasured by Al-Farouq.

He has the chance to play with his brother, Alade, who was sensational against Greece with nine points and seven rebounds.

"It's amazing," Al-Farouq said.

"We grew up together but I've not been on the same team with him professionally.

"It's the first time and for us to be on the same stage like this is wonderful."

His father has not flown to Caracas but Al-Farouq knows he is keeping tabs on his sons.

"He's back in New Orleans and is trying to catch the games on the computer," Al-Farouq said.

"He's excited."

Fiba.com

Last chance for Nigeria today against Dominican Republic, its all or nothing to go to London, read the preview http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/preview-nigeria-vs-dominican-rep.html#more. Lets support the team

You guys are just spreading some bad rumors, first off, Nigeria tried to reach out to so many players, Ezeli couldn't make the team because of draft commitments, Alabi and Uzoh wanted to focus on getting their NBA contracts sorted, and Udoka has a problem with the current Naija coach Ayo Bakare because of the way he disrespected his sister Mfon during the African female tournament, so he refused to come. If you want more information about Nigerian basketball, go to this site and read through or do a search nigerian-basketball..co.uk

Anyways we need to win today or else it's over

Apologies guys, game is at 10.30pm UK time.

The game is today, I repeat the game is today, the third place and final is tomorrow. If we dont win today, then we have to win in the third place game tomorrow to qualify, see here for more http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/olympic-preview-nigeria-vs-russia.html

10.30pm UK Time. The Nigerian team are the toast of the tournament, and a victory against the Russians will see us go thorugh to the Olympics. Follow the team here and read the preview....

After proving all haters...oops I mean doubters wrong, the Nigerian team go into tonight’s game, needing one more win to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the Nigerian team as they have gained a lot of fans all over the world through their sheer enthusiasm and their exciting play.

Just like in the previous games against Lithuania and Greece, The Russian basketball team are well groomed fundamentally, they are long, athletic and like to find the extra pass to shift the defence. They also have form NBA and Current NBA players in their squad like Timofey Mozgov of the Denver Nuggets, Sasha Kaun who was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics but now plays in Russia, and Andre Kirilenko formerly of the Utah Jazz. One good news for Nigeria though is that Timofey Mozgov is out of the Nigerian game after a foot injury suffered early on in the tournament.


The Russians rely a lot on their lengths to close out on the boards and initiate fast breaks, they are also a good shooting team and like to space out the floor on offence. Andre Kirinlenko will be their main defensive player as he likes to block shots and knows how to cut to the basket for easy points on offence. The main catalyst for Russia is Sasha Kaun, at 6’11 he is very good with the ball in his hands and will look to be a mismatch everywhere around the court. Expect the Russians to be cutting, setting picks and rotating all over the floor on offence, the Nigerian team will need to stay focus and talk to each other on defence to stay in front of the Russians.

Skinn needs to control the game
For Nigeria to win this game, they will need to be aggressive every quarter to put the Russians off their game and get them in early foul trouble. The Nigerian players are quicker than the Russians so they need to be able to space out the floor on offence and use their quickness to take them to the rim. The main player for Nigeria in this game will have to be former George Mason point guard Tony Skinn, this is the game that Skinn will need to show that he is an elite point guard by being patient and setting up the offence for the other players to get good looks. On defence, the Nigerian will need to rotate quicker, they have had problems with the pick and roll in past games and they will need to work on this to have any chance of staying in the game. The Russians also lack a quality point guard, so this is an area the Nigerians might look to exploit.

With the way things are, I believe the Nigerian team can pull off another upset. They will need to stay focused throughout the game and knock down higher percentages of their shots. The Russians will be very tactical which is expected, they are expected to win and they will look to confound the Nigerian team with their movements off the ball, but in the game of basketball anything is possible. The game starts at 5pm local time and we wish the Nigerian team good luck.

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/olympic-preview-nigeria-vs-russia.html#more

Guys see the interviews and highlights from the game below

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/some-highlights-from-greek-game.html


We are doing really well, and remember that we are still missing some key players

Follow the Nigerian team here, the Nigerian team is no joke.. http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/

Another upset maybe ? see preview here... http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/07/qf-preview-nigeria-clash-with-greece.html

Read match report here nigerian-basketball..co.uk

Naija B.Ball is stepping up, follow it here....

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/06/golden-state-warriors-pick-festus-ezeli.html

Up Naija, got picked by the Golden State Warriors

Ongoing Super 4 tournament in Brazil, read more...

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/search/label/National%20Team

This time in basketball

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/06/nigeria-loses-to-greece-nigerian.html

Festus Ezeli, Michael Eric and Temi Adebayor, see links below

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/06/2012-nba-draft-festus-ezeli-nothing-is.html

http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-sixers/sixers-talk/NBA-draft-Adebayo-seeks-to-shed-D-II-lab?blockID=712158&feedID=694

Nigerian players are doing it big this year, the likes of Rasheed Sulaimon, Braxton Ogbueze, Chris Obekpa etc are turning heads in the states and might one day make it in the NBA, see link below to see more players....

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/2012/06/rising-stars-nigerian-born-top-10-high.html

Enjoy updating news about Nigerian basketball all around the world as we prepare to go make the Olympics. Visit the site velow, and see news on our NCAA players, High School plyaers, National team and much more.

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/

Naija Ballers are balling o, they just beat the GB team 86-80 in Houston, firendly, another Naija kid played for the GB team, Ogo Adegboye.

http://nigerian-basketball..co.uk/

Nigerians to watch out for

Al-Farouq Aminu --- Hornets
Emeka Okafor --- Hornets
Ekpe Udoh --- Warriors
Solomon Alabi --- Raptors
Andre Iguodala -- 76sixers
Jeff Green --- Celtics (injured for season)


Ben Uzoh --- Free agent
Gani Lawal --- Free agent
Ime Udoka --- Free agent
Ike Diogu --- free Agent

Femi Oladipo

[img]http://1.2.3.11/bmi/www.yabazz.com/images/buzz/buzz_4bd943131f552_lg.jpg[/img]

[img]http://1.2.3.13/bmi/www.yabazz.com/images/buzz/buzz_20091231132930_lg.jpg[/img]

Leon Balogun

[img]http://1.2.3.12/bmi/images.teamtalk.com/08/10/640/LeonBalogun_1349444.jpg[/img]

Damn so much negative energy on this thread, why cant we just support ours and respect each others.

TY Ogunkoya

[img]http://4.bp..com/_R-5kp8rvgMA/Skp74gjxbCI/AAAAAAAAG1g/KDIBgH6q4sA/s400/TY+Ogunkoya.jpg[/img]

https://i.models.com/oftheminute/images/2008/07/ty.jpg



Gani Lawal

https://cdn1.sbnation.com/photo_images/501814/42332_NCAA_Georgia_Tech_Basketball.jpg

https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4980775166_6b2efba020.jpg



Adewale Ogunleye

https://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/05/08/sports/nigeria600.jpg

[img]http://1.bp..com/_Xkw7elHylGY/SfubM4LMuoI/AAAAAAAAAHk/SlEwnT7YgMQ/s400/Adewale+Ogunleye2.jpg[/img]

https://s11.allstarpics.net/images/orig/1/5/15h7dzrpgjittip.jpg



Rotimi Akinosho

https://postoffice.urbanmusicdaily.net/site/artist-page/Rotimi.jpg

https://wscr365.blog.com/files/2011/02/RotimiCOVER.jpg



David Agbodji

https://www.style.com/slideshows/mens/fashionshows/S2010MEN/CKMEN/DETAILS/00730m.jpg

https://i.models.com/i/db/2010/6/23154/23154-500w.jpg



Devin Aromashodu

https://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2010/0921/fan_a_aromashodu_200.jpg

https://media.scout.com/Media/Image/30/304671.jpg



Olumide Oyedeji

https://news.hoopchina.com/upload/bt/200912/1261019407.jpg

https://www.casertaweb.com/foto/Olumide-Oyedeji.jpg



Ade Bantu

[img]http://64.182.81.172/images/ade-bantu.jpg[/img]

[img]http://nigerianview.com/pictures/17745dt.common.streams.StreamServer[4].jpg[/img]



Taio Cruz

https://images.pictureshunt.com/pics/t/taio_cruz-13907.jpg



Emmanuel Adebayor

[img]http://4.bp..com/_8tfveb4LEvY/SGAjgm9r0bI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/B-bb-2lamaI/s400/ade.jpg[/img]

https://spurs.theoffside.com/files/2011/08/Emmanuel-Adebayor-at-Tottenham-v-Hearts_2641038.jpg

https://thefootballproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Togo-Tottenham-Hotspur-striker-Emmanuel-Adebayor.jpg



Jarome Iginla

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Jarome_Iginla._2008.JPG/200px-Jarome_Iginla._2008.JPG

https://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/jarome-iginla-2009-nhl-awards-1a8cPq.jpg



John Boyega

[img]http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/John+Boyega+Attack+Block+UK+Premiere+baMsEyeEVxLl.jpg[/img]



Ademola Okulaja

[img]http://www.tip-berlin.de/files/mediafiles/31/Schooltalks_c-Schnitger_Okulaja.jpg[/img]



Skepta

https://www.soulculture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Skepta-x-11-e1310307496636.jpg

https://redbullmusicacademyradio.com/uploads/show_pics/skepta_456_001.jpg



J.P. Olukemi

https://media.scout.com/Media/Image/90/907915.jpg

[img]http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/J+P+Olukemi+12+Basketball+Tournament+First+l5IVk07hjxzl.jpg[/img]



Wale

https://authenticbyrdie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wale1.jpg

https://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/wale.jpg



Semilore Ojeleye

https://www.ny2lasports.com/ImageFilesPlayerProfiles/Semilore%20Oielege.JPG

Corey Raji

[img]http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Corey+Raji+ACC+Basketball+Tournament+Quarterfinals+eRnzr1uQh33l.jpg[/img]



JME

[img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/589800/JME.jpg[/img]