African NBA Academy and BAL stars add global flair to US college landscape

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The landscape of American college basketball has become even more global this season as four top African prospects join Division 1 teams, with the likes of UConn, Oral Roberts and Louisville reaping the benefits of NBA Academy efforts. and the Basketball Africa League.

Nigerian Emmanuel Okorafor has had an impressive start to life in Louisville, while his compatriots Joy Ighovodja (Oral Roberts) and Rueben Chinyelu (Washington State), as well as Egypt’s Jana El Alfy (UConn), are set to bring even more African flair at NCAA Division I in 2023.

Center Ugonna Onyenso has already made his mark with the University of Kentucky and fellow Nigerian international Chinyelu (19), a 6’11” center forward/forward, is of a similar stature both physically and in terms of respect he earned in the game.

“I was lucky to be recruited by so many wonderful schools,” said Chinyelu, who has been courted by Tennessee, Florida, Kansas, Georgia, Rutgers, Mississippi State, Memphis, Maryland, Santa Clara and others to ESPN.

“Washington State stood out for its style of play and the experience of the technical staff with African and international players.

“Playing college basketball with and against other dedicated players who want to win, are hungry and have a big vision for their future and aspire to be the best is something I look forward to.”

Chinyelu played for the NBA Africa team at the NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas from December 19-22 last year.

Nigerian Reuben Chinyelu played in the Basketball Africa League in 2022, and his efforts there saw multiple offers from American schools coming in. He chose to go with Washington State. Pope Emir/NBAE via Getty Images

El Alfy (17), a 6’4″ forward, attended the NBA Global Academy in Australia in February and March last year. Later, she was the Women’s MVP and first pick of the Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr in August and September Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa Camp in Cairo.

Like Chinyelu, she was unsurprisingly highly sought after. She chose UConn despite interest from the University of Louisville, Duke University, UCLA, University of North Carolina and University of Michigan.

“I always wanted to play for UConn and when I first saw UConn and Coach Geno [Auriemma] and how they play and their game, I feel like that’s the place for me and that’s where I want to go,” El Alfy told ESPN.

“All of my comment sections are like, ‘So glad to have you, Jana. Welcome to UConn!’ Everyone is so lovely and it makes me really excited to go to UConn,” she added, admitting she was surprised by the fanfare of her arrival.

International prospects can sometimes struggle to fit into their colleges, as was initially the case for Egypt’s Meral Abdelgawad at WKU. However, Abdelgawad would eventually become a very successful guard there before returning to Egypt with El Alfy’s club Al Ahly. She was among those whom El Alfy asked for advice on his future.

However, El Alfy believes she has an edge over most international players when it comes to adaptability, having already gone through the daunting process of adjusting to an unfamiliar country in Australia.

“I thought of [the possibility that the first year at UConn might be difficult], but I don’t think it’s going to be difficult for me, because I went to the NBA Global Academy and it was the same thing. It was similar – I was on my own, just a foreign player, studying, playing basketball, eating and rehearsing every day,” she said.

“I’m a bit used to it. I think it’s not going to be as difficult as for other players who have never been abroad before or who have just been on their own. I don’t know how to say that, but i think i have an advantage [because] I went to Australia and played before and I was on my own.”

El Alfy signed up for UConn, and while she’s not expected to play in 2022/23, she has the advantage of being able to travel and train with the team as they settle in.

Egypt international Jana El Alfy was one of the most impressive players at the Basketball Without Borders camp in Cairo last year, with Warriors coach Steve Kerr making her his first draft pick. Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Although he hasn’t been scouted as aggressively as his NBA Academy peers like Chinyelu and El Alfy, Ighovodja (18) is another player who learned from an experience of isolation in his career before.

He played for Rwanda Energy Group (REG) at BAL under Robert Pack in 2022, but while Chinyelu played a big role for Mozambique’s Ferroviário da Beira and Okorafor for Espoir Fukash, Ighovodja only played small roles.

Nonetheless, the diminutive 6’4″ forward/guard found a way to make the most of his early professional basketball experience, which he gained through the BAL Elevate program which awarded an NBA prospect Africa Academy to each of the 12 teams.

Ighovodja told ESPN: “BAL was a great experience because I was surrounded by professionals. I learned a lot even though I was not given [much of a] chance to play, maybe because of the confidence or the way they looked at me as a young player.

“Being around these guys helped me grow. If I had any questions, their rooms were always open for me to ask questions and watch videos to learn more about the game.

“In practice, they always pushed me like, ‘You can do it. Just see yourself in this position. It’s all about your mind – how to play big. Don’t think you’re too small to do something. You can always do anything and correct your mistakes. BAL helped me a lot and when I went back to the academy I [had] grew in my mind.”

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Ighovodja used to be overlooked, but Oral Roberts won him over by treating him as a special talent.

He added: “Training was difficult for me because I was left-handed and it was like I was different from others. I didn’t really have many offers to play basketball, but after the [NBA Academy Games] in Atlanta, I had a few schools [interested in me]but it was Oral Roberts pressuring me, telling me what they wanted, how they would like to work with me.

“It was the first school that organized my official visit. I did not see myself doing visits [in 2022], because I thought maybe I wasn’t there yet, but they made it happen and I went. I went to see how the program was. The school was beautiful. My teammates were playing good basketball. I didn’t want to waste time waiting or choosing another school.”

Okorafor, a 6’9″ striker who played for DR Congo’s Espoir Fukash at BAL, visited Oral Roberts with Ighovodja but opted to take a different route, committing to Louisville.

Louisville has struggled this season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), but Okorafor is confident he can help them turn the tide. He told ESPN: “Right now the situation we’re in is not really a good situation, but I know I’m a guy who always plays tough.

“I always play hard and do my best to help the team. Playing in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) – playing in Louisville right now – won’t be a problem because I’m in a professional league, the ball.

“It was my first time playing in the BAL and I play hard and I know what I can bring to a team. Certainly, I know I can bring energy to Louisville. I will motivate the guys [to believe] we can do it, play hard and give 100% effort to win games.”

Emmanuel Okorafor, who signed for the Louisville Cardinals following his BAL success last year, passes Miami players to score in February 2023. Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Okorafor kept his promise, with his most impressive performance against Notre-Dame. Okorafor had eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of that game.

Thierry Darlan (Central African Republic), BWB Africa’s men’s MVP this year, told ESPN he remains undecided about his future, although he has officially visited Santa Clara and the University of Arizona – the latter which visited with Cameroon striker Ulrich. Chomp.

Chomche, who represented FAP at BAL 2022 and Darlan, a guard who played for Petro de Luanda, also both made the NBA Africa Academy roster during the G-League Winter Showcase with the team from the NBA Africa Academy.

Senegalese Babacar Sané, who was DUC Dakar’s BAL Elevate player last year, signed with G League Ignite in October as opportunities continue to swell for the brightest talent at the NBA Africa Academy.

Separated from the academy stars, Emmanuel Ogbole, a 6’9″ striker/center from the Nigerian Educational Basketball Program – the same from which Okorafor joined the NBA Academy – is another player to watch, as he has offers from Seton Hall and Rutgers.

In NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I, 2023 is set to be a year marked by some of the most comprehensive homegrown prospects African basketball has produced.

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