More than 30 African players are shooting baskets in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States and many more will soon be on their way.
Leading the hunt for talent is the towering figure of Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Africa vice president for development in Africa, who is scouring the continent for the next Michael Jordan.
Amadou Gallo Fall
Fall has walked the winding road from Africa to the riches of the NBA. Born in Senegal, he was discovered by a Peace Corps worker and won a basketball scholarship to the United States. He played for the University of the District of Colombia in a 17-year career and also scouted for the Dallas Mavericks, who are the current NBA champions.
Six months ago, Fall set out for South Sudan, Africa’s newest country.
“We have a long-standing history with the country. The first NBA player from Africa to have had an impact on our league, who had a successful career and was well respected, was Manute Bol,” says Fall.
Bol was born in Turalei in South Sudan, where he grew up herding cattle. One of his most famed stories was how he once killed a lion with a spear to protect the herd.
Bol was literally someone to look up to as he stood 7ft 6ins tall and wore size 16 sneakers. He emigrated to the United States in 1982 and joined the Washington Bullets in 1985. He became not only the tallest player in the NBA, but the best shot blocker in the game. In retirement, Bol used to return often to South Sudan in a bid to heal the country after its civil war. Sadly, he died in Charlottesville, Virginia, in June 2010, aged 47, less than a year before his country assumed its statehood. He died of kidney disease caused by the complication of a rare skin complaint.
The Bol legacy survives in South Sudan, as does the basketball court where he shot his first ever basket, but there are precious few places where the young can embark on their hoop dreams.
Despite the lack of basketball courts, Fall believes the land is awash with fresh talent.
“The interest in the sport is definitely there and there is a fan base. We also need to develop the local expertise,” he says.
The question is: could the next Michael Jordan—or Manute Bol—spring from Juba?
“We want kids in Juba to aspire to reach for the highest level based on their potential. If we remain consistent in our engagement in South Sudan, develop infrastructure and build capacity by training coaches, there is no doubt that elite players will emerge but we are excited about the opportunity to use the game to impact on communities at large,” says Fall.
There is the NBA Cares program, which, since 2005, has spent over $150 million building more than 500 places where youngsters can play. Thirty-five of these are in Africa.
In Africa, it runs basketball clinics for youngsters between the ages of seven and 19.
The long and short of it; Manute Bol #10 of the Washington Bullets waits for the action to begin during the NBA game at the Capital Centre circa 1988 in Baltimore, Maryland
In the hunt for talent, Basketball Without Borders, held in Johannesburg this year, remains its flagship grassroots event on the continent. It brings together young basketball players from across Africa. One of the many programs set up since the NBA opened an office in Johannesburg in May 2010, with the hope of riding the sports wave created by the FIFA World Cup.
“Within the first 12 months, we signed a unique partnership with the Royal Bafokeng Nation that is making a real impact in the region in terms of the number of coaches and players whom we have actively helped. This is a good example of how we are impacting the game on a very local level, working with the community, building courts and providing playing opportunities,” Fall says.
South Africa is seen as a happy hunting ground for the NBA and Fall has big plans. He sees an opportunity to host NBA games here in future and talks of plans to set up a university league.
Television would be part of these plans and it appears the small screen is already helping spread the game of basketball in Africa.
NBA games, featuring 10 players from Africa, were broadcast to 55 African countries and territories, in five languages, during the 2010-11 season.
“In Africa there is tremendous potential for growth, but investment in the sport is crucial in order to tackle the accessibility issue and the scarcity of local coaching expertise. Given the huge athletic potential, there is no doubt that as the game grows, the business will grow too.
With the NBA having so many players from the continent it is a clear indication that talent exists in abundance,” says Fall.
Whilst South Sudan appears to be an incubator for talent, according to Fall, he is careful to also nod to Nigeria, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We definitely think South Sudan is up there too,” he smiles.
Bul Bior, from South Sudan, was at the basketball get-together in Johannesburg this year. With hard work and a little luck, maybe he could be the next Michael Jordan or Manute Bol.