Why D’Tigers are under-achieving - Nnaji
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- Written by David Ngobua
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I started playing basketball in Plateau State, Jos to be precise. I started when Plateau Peaks, then it was Benue –Plateau were preparing for the National Sports Festival I think in Kaduna. That was either 70 or so. I used to play football but on this particular day, after training, I went to watch the intermediate basketball team in training. I indicated interest and was invited to join the intermediate team and that was how I started.
Which clubs did you play for?
I played for many clubs like Plateau Peaks, Kada Stars and Benue Braves. These were some of the clubs I played for. I won the league with these clubs.
How and when did you become a basketball coach?
As I was playing, I was also learning how to coach. Each time I travelled out of the country, I got curious. I was interested in the players of such countries and how other coaches were doing it. And whenever I returned, I tried to teach the younger ones and like that I developed more interest. In addition, I studied physical and health Education. In Plateau State, I started as a coach player. I was playing for the senior team and coaching the junior team.
What are the clubs you have handled so far?
Like I said before, I started with Plateau State intermediate team, I coached Plateau Peaks, Tapgun Rockers, Customs and a host of others that I handled on rescue mission until I got involved with the national teams.
How and when did you begin to coach national teams?
I got to the national team I think in 1986, when the male junior national team was to travel to a championship in Angola. I was called to assist the chief coach, I think Nike. I started with the junior team before I was taken to the women team. I later went back to the senior male team. I handled female national team as head coach and I also took charge of the junior male team. That’s how it has been with me. At the moment, I am a staff of Nigeria Customs and I am in charge of the female basketball club.
What is the difference between coaching men and women basketball players?
The difference is that with the women you need to work more. You don’t talk only but practicalize some of the things you tell them. With the men, it may not be necessary because they can easily grab what you are talking about. So you have to be more active with the women. It is the same basketball but the concentration level is more with the men then the women. You need to give women more attention as little things can put them off. It matters a lot how you talk and relate with them. One thing with women is that they have interpretation for everything you do. What means nothing to men will mean a lot to women.
When it comes to handling the senior national teams, the NBBF shows some degree of preference for expatriate coaches. Is it because the indigenous coaches cannot do the job?
We can but the administrators always have their way of doing things. I don’t really want to comment much on this because I am not in their shoes. We can offer the same service that the expatriate coaches have to offer but it sometimes has to do with the philosophy or belief of those in charge. May be that is what they want. I don’t always want to comment much on this but the truth is that we are capable of handling our national teams. We work with these players and we know them more than any other coach that may come in from elsewhere. However, when you go outside, it is a different ball game. Therefore, all we need do is to constantly study what is happening elsewhere in order to upgrade our knowledge. Like me, I have gone round and there is nothing anybody can tell me about basketball in the US or Europe that I have not seen. I have attended competitions in all these countries and I have seen how they play. We talk about first class coach for immediate results but such coaches would need to know the players. If we don’t have first class indigenous coaches, why don’t we enrich their curriculum vitae by allowing them to lead our national teams?. It is from there that they would also acquire the necessary experience. If it is compulsory to sign expatriate coaches, they should be given long contracts for us to see how they would develop the talents on ground.
Are you happy with the state of basketball in Nigeria?
I won’t say I am because some time ago, we were going up there but every time we want to get up there, something happens and we crash land. Look at where we are playing this competition. There is no international competition that is played on hard court. In order to save the legs of the young players, they make use of wooden courts. Every team goes for wooden floor but up to this moment, we do not have them in this country. Few organizations have such courts but they are not enough. We are supposed to have indoor sports hall in every state and that is when we can say we are playing basketball. We need to improve on our facilities. Let every state have a sports hall, not only for basketball but other sports as well. Plateau State has two premier league basketball clubs but the state has no single indoor sports hall. The clubs now come down to Abuja to play their matches. This is not good considering the fact that Plateau State has produced so many basketball stars.
Can you recall your most memorable moment as a coach?
I have so many memorable moments but the greatest of them all I can say is winning the Africa Women Nations cup here in Abuja. We had everything going against us but we were able to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup. I am not too sure of the year but I was in charge of the D’Tigress. We had no sponsors and the only support we got came from the chairman. It was like if we succeed in getting these for you, what would you guys do in return? So as the man in charge, the whole pressure was on me. But in the end, from a state of hopelessness, we were able to conquer Africa and qualify for the World Cup. I was really overwhelmed with happiness.
What about your worst moment?
I do not have much of such moments but I can say it was in Senegal when we went with the men’s senior team and that was the first time we qualified the team for the World Cup. We had defeated the host Senegal in the preliminary round but when we met them in the finals, nothing went well for us. All the players went off. We had to fight for everything and in the end we could not achieve our desire to win the Africa Nation’s Cup for the first time. We missed that opportunity and we have not gotten another ever since.
Are there prospects of breaking the jinx in the near future?
We have prospects but preparation is always our problem. We are so good at not preparing well before major championships. We keep expecting much from the players without adequate preparations. We always end up among the top six but winning the Nations Cup has remained a mirage. We only hope that one day, we would get things right.
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Why D’Tigers are under-achieving - Nnaji
Category: Sports Written by David Ngobua Hits: 816
Former national basketball team coach, Scott Nnaji has said winning the Africa Nations Cup has remained an uphill task for D’Tigers because preparation before major championships is never a thing of priority to the country’s sports administrators. The coach of Customs basketball club also speaks to SHOT! about his career and basketball in Nigeria. How did you get into the game of basketball?I started playing basketball in Plateau State, Jos to be precise. I started when Plateau Peaks, then it was Benue –Plateau were preparing for the National Sports Festival I think in Kaduna. That was either 70 or so. I used to play football but on this particular day, after training, I went to watch the intermediate basketball team in training. I indicated interest and was invited to join the intermediate team and that was how I started.
Which clubs did you play for?
I played for many clubs like Plateau Peaks, Kada Stars and Benue Braves. These were some of the clubs I played for. I won the league with these clubs.
How and when did you become a basketball coach?
As I was playing, I was also learning how to coach. Each time I travelled out of the country, I got curious. I was interested in the players of such countries and how other coaches were doing it. And whenever I returned, I tried to teach the younger ones and like that I developed more interest. In addition, I studied physical and health Education. In Plateau State, I started as a coach player. I was playing for the senior team and coaching the junior team.
What are the clubs you have handled so far?
Like I said before, I started with Plateau State intermediate team, I coached Plateau Peaks, Tapgun Rockers, Customs and a host of others that I handled on rescue mission until I got involved with the national teams.
How and when did you begin to coach national teams?
I got to the national team I think in 1986, when the male junior national team was to travel to a championship in Angola. I was called to assist the chief coach, I think Nike. I started with the junior team before I was taken to the women team. I later went back to the senior male team. I handled female national team as head coach and I also took charge of the junior male team. That’s how it has been with me. At the moment, I am a staff of Nigeria Customs and I am in charge of the female basketball club.
What is the difference between coaching men and women basketball players?
The difference is that with the women you need to work more. You don’t talk only but practicalize some of the things you tell them. With the men, it may not be necessary because they can easily grab what you are talking about. So you have to be more active with the women. It is the same basketball but the concentration level is more with the men then the women. You need to give women more attention as little things can put them off. It matters a lot how you talk and relate with them. One thing with women is that they have interpretation for everything you do. What means nothing to men will mean a lot to women.
When it comes to handling the senior national teams, the NBBF shows some degree of preference for expatriate coaches. Is it because the indigenous coaches cannot do the job?
We can but the administrators always have their way of doing things. I don’t really want to comment much on this because I am not in their shoes. We can offer the same service that the expatriate coaches have to offer but it sometimes has to do with the philosophy or belief of those in charge. May be that is what they want. I don’t always want to comment much on this but the truth is that we are capable of handling our national teams. We work with these players and we know them more than any other coach that may come in from elsewhere. However, when you go outside, it is a different ball game. Therefore, all we need do is to constantly study what is happening elsewhere in order to upgrade our knowledge. Like me, I have gone round and there is nothing anybody can tell me about basketball in the US or Europe that I have not seen. I have attended competitions in all these countries and I have seen how they play. We talk about first class coach for immediate results but such coaches would need to know the players. If we don’t have first class indigenous coaches, why don’t we enrich their curriculum vitae by allowing them to lead our national teams?. It is from there that they would also acquire the necessary experience. If it is compulsory to sign expatriate coaches, they should be given long contracts for us to see how they would develop the talents on ground.
Are you happy with the state of basketball in Nigeria?
I won’t say I am because some time ago, we were going up there but every time we want to get up there, something happens and we crash land. Look at where we are playing this competition. There is no international competition that is played on hard court. In order to save the legs of the young players, they make use of wooden courts. Every team goes for wooden floor but up to this moment, we do not have them in this country. Few organizations have such courts but they are not enough. We are supposed to have indoor sports hall in every state and that is when we can say we are playing basketball. We need to improve on our facilities. Let every state have a sports hall, not only for basketball but other sports as well. Plateau State has two premier league basketball clubs but the state has no single indoor sports hall. The clubs now come down to Abuja to play their matches. This is not good considering the fact that Plateau State has produced so many basketball stars.
Can you recall your most memorable moment as a coach?
I have so many memorable moments but the greatest of them all I can say is winning the Africa Women Nations cup here in Abuja. We had everything going against us but we were able to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup. I am not too sure of the year but I was in charge of the D’Tigress. We had no sponsors and the only support we got came from the chairman. It was like if we succeed in getting these for you, what would you guys do in return? So as the man in charge, the whole pressure was on me. But in the end, from a state of hopelessness, we were able to conquer Africa and qualify for the World Cup. I was really overwhelmed with happiness.
What about your worst moment?
I do not have much of such moments but I can say it was in Senegal when we went with the men’s senior team and that was the first time we qualified the team for the World Cup. We had defeated the host Senegal in the preliminary round but when we met them in the finals, nothing went well for us. All the players went off. We had to fight for everything and in the end we could not achieve our desire to win the Africa Nation’s Cup for the first time. We missed that opportunity and we have not gotten another ever since.
Are there prospects of breaking the jinx in the near future?
We have prospects but preparation is always our problem. We are so good at not preparing well before major championships. We keep expecting much from the players without adequate preparations. We always end up among the top six but winning the Nations Cup has remained a mirage. We only hope that one day, we would get things right.