Former NBA star searches for new Basketball talent in Port Harcourt
By China Acheru
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| Obinna Ekezie |
Former National Basketball Association, NBA star, Obinna Ekezie is in Port Harcourt and he is looking for the next big player from the oil city.
After he retired from the game,
he started Wakanow.com and now OBN (Organised Basketball Network) which has
brought him to Port Harcourt.
“I grew up in Port Harcourt
until I was eighteen years old then I went to the USA to attend Worchester
Academy on a basketball scholarship,” Ekezie said of his start to a glorious
basketball career.
“After two years I earned a
full scholarship to go the University of Maryland where I developed my skill to
a point I became an NBA prospect. I played professionally for eight years, five
in the NBA and three in Europe.”
Ekezie added that Wakanow.com,
an online travel company was his initial business venture, even though his
passion has always been this basketball academy.
The two day Basketball
scouting program in Port Harcourt will hold at the Basketball Stadium in
Victoria Street and will run for two days, from Friday, May 20, 2022 to
Saturday, May 21, 2022.
Why OBN?
His new baby is the
Organised Basketball Network, OBN which is part of a larger OBN Sports Business
world whose main business would be sporting infrastructure to develop the game.
“I want to be remembered as
someone that invested heavily in the development of basketball. We want to build
world class infrastructure that will help develop the game.
“What I have seen over time
is the lack of infrastructure to develop the game. And that is my focus when we
develop the OBN academy in Lagos,” the former NBA star enthused.
“The academy will be
complete with seven hundred seater arena, a studio to produce the competitions,
a full medical center, a fitness gym, an entertainment area, and a high school
by 2023 to make it a full fledged academy.
“My focus will be not just basketball
but other sports and I know that without the infrastructure you cannot really develop
the talent,” Ekezie said.
Obinna Ekezie started his
basketball career from 1993 to 1995 by attending Worcester Academy on a partial
scholarship for his Junior and Senior years of High School, He then earned a
full scholarship from 1995 - 1999 to play basketball at the University of
Maryland where he also studied Mechanical Engineering and Business.
He
went on to play for the Vancouver Grizzlies (Now the Memphis Grizzlies), the Washington
Wizards, L.A Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and also played
in Europe for Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Lottomatica Roma (Italy) and Dynamo
Moscow (Russia).
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