TOKYO – The Nigerian National Basketball Team has announced its 12-man training camp roster in advance of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Nigeria will compete in Group B alongside Australia, Germany and Italy, tipping off against Australia on Sunday, July 25.
The 12-man roster features a total of eight active NBA players, including three members of the Miami Heat. The active NBA players include: Precious Achiuwa (Miami Heat), Chimezie Metu (Sacramento Kings), Jordan Nwora (Milwaukee Bucks), Jahlil Okafor (Detroit Pistons), Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), KZ Okpala (Heat), Miye Oni (Utah Jazz) and Gabe Nnamdi Vincent (Heat). Additionally, Ekpe Udoh has previous NBA experience.
Nigeria will tip-off its Olympic schedule against Australia on July 25 (1:20 a.m. PDT) to open play in Group B of the preliminary round, followed by games against Germany (July 27, 6 p.m. PDT) and Italy (July 30, 9:40 p.m. PDT).
The Nigerian team played a trio of exhibition games in Las Vegas in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, becoming the first African basketball team ever to beat the United States and following the historic win with a victory over Argentina. The 2020 Olympic Games mark Nigeria’s third-straight Olympic appearance after competing in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Coach Brown, who is currently an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors after previous head coaching stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, is the first active NBA coach ever to lead Team Nigeria.
For updates on the Nigerian National Team, follow @NigeriaBasket and @nbbfonline on Twitter and @nigeriabasketball and @nbbfonline on Instagram. Proud supporters of Friends of Nigerian Basketball (FONB) include Flutterwave, Paxful, Star Beer USA and Ellume.
See below for Nigeria’s 12-man roster:
NIGERIAN NATIONAL TEAM 12-MAN ROSTER
|
PLAYER |
POS |
HT |
WT |
COLLEGE |
LAST PLAYED |
|
|
55 |
Precious Achiuwa |
C |
6-8 |
225 |
Memphis |
Miami Heat (NBA) |
|
Caleb Agada |
SG |
6-3 |
209 |
Ottawa |
Hapeol Be’er Sheva B.C. (Israel) |
|
|
11 |
Obi Emegano |
PG |
6-3 |
215 |
Oral Roberts |
Fuenlabrada (Spain) |
|
10 |
Chimezie Metu |
C |
6-11 |
215 |
USC |
Sacramento Kings (NBA) |
|
34 |
Ike Nwamu |
SG |
6-5 |
205 |
UNLV |
Samara (Russia) |
|
33 |
Jordan Nwora |
SF |
6-8 |
225 |
Louisville |
Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) |
|
15 |
Jahlil Okafor |
C |
6-10 |
270 |
Duke |
Detroit Pistons (NBA) |
|
20 |
Josh Okogie |
SG |
6-4 |
213 |
Georgia Tech |
Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) |
|
0 |
KZ Okpala |
SF |
6-8 |
215 |
Stanford |
Miami Heat (NBA) |
|
13 |
Miye Oni |
PG |
6-5 |
206 |
Yale |
Utah Jazz (NBA) |
|
8 |
Ekpe Udoh |
C |
6-10 |
245 |
Baylor |
Beijing RF (China) |
|
22 |
Gabe Nnamdi Vincent |
SG |
6-3 |
200 |
UC-Santa Barbara |
Miami Heat (NBA) |
Pronunciation Guide: Precious Achiuwa (ah-CHEW-uh), Chimezie Metu (chi-MEH-zee Meh-tu), Ike Nwamu, Jordan Nwora (Jordan WORE-uh), Jahlil Okafor (JAH-leel OH-ka-for), Josh Okogie (Oh-KOH-ghee), KZ Okpala (KAY-zee ock-PAH-luh), Miye Oni (me-A owe-knee), Ekpe Udoh (EPP-ay You-Doe)
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Mike Brown
Associate Head Coach: Alex Nwora
Associate Head Coach: Jordi Fernandez
Assistant Coach: Luke Loucks
Analytics Coach: Sammy Gelfand
Player Development Coach & Video Coordinator: James Laughlin
BASKETBALL STAFF
President NBBF / General Manager: Musa Kida
Vice President NBBF: Babs Ogunade
Advanced Scout: Hansen Wong
Head Trainer: Roger Sancho
Assistant Trainer: Charles Hooks
Masseur: Garfield Crooks
Head Equipment Manager: Danny Alonzo
Director of Operations & Player Development Coach: Mike Newton
Manager of Operations & Media Coordinator: Myles McKee-Osibodu
Head of Security: Tony Banks
