By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Maurice Ndour has played for the New York Knicks, Real Madrid and he is currently a member of Unics Kazan. However, playing for the national teams in the FIBA Windows is a unique sensation.
“There is nothing like playing in your home country, it’s different energy you can feel”, said Ndour to Eurohoops. “I felt bad that I had to miss the qualified in June and July but it’s a decision that I had to make”.
Still, with his experience outside Africa, the Senegalese big man believes that his and the other African federations need to step up their game: “I can’t speak in the name of the federation but in my opinion, I think they understand that having some of the best players, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will win. You need better a preparation, enough days to get familiar with the coach playing style, but on top of that, you need a coaching staff who understands the game of basketball in order to take the team to a high level of competition. You could see the difference in execution and chemistry when we played a team like Nigeria who blew us out. We should learn from our mistakes”.
Ndour also thinks that the sporting authorities of his country need to acknowledge and support the basketball talent of Senegal: “Senegal is a country of ballplayers no matter how hard they try to ignore it. We have the height, the strength and the talent to be a contender just like any other team. With a little bit of help and commitment from them, we will reach higher heights”.
“We have to let those kids know that they matter”
While things may change after the recent announcement for the creation of a new African league by the NBA and FIBA. It’s not an easy choice to try to become a professional athlete in Africa, as Maurice Ndour explains: “Being an athlete is not an easy thing to do, let alone in Senegal where parents want you to focus more on your education than playing sports because they think there are no opportunities in the long term. We have to invest in the youth and create opportunities for them to succeed on and off the court”.
At least things are getting better. “Now things are changing because you have organizations like the NBA academy, the Seed Academy, Maurice Ndour Foundation, Giving Back Foundation, Gorgui Sy Dieng Foundation, Basketball Without Borders, Giants of Africa and plenty others who are very active in the country, organizing camps, clinics and games for kids to participate but it’s not enough and they cannot all do it alone”.
For Ndour, sports can change lives, especially in Africa: “We all have to use our platform to educate, teach, train and lead these kids to not only give them hope but to let them know that they matter and that we care about them and their future. Only then we will be able to see improvements in their game and in different aspects of their lives”.
In Senegal, a new generation of players is emerging with the U18 team reaching the final of the Africa Championship of 2018 and getting qualified for the U19 World Cup. “I was very proud of the young boys and I think so was everybody else”, said Ndour, who thinks that this kind of success also creates responsibilities for the local federation: “It’s up to the federation now to start keeping tabs on the young guys, invite some of them to participate in the men’s team practices because one day they will be called upon to represent Senegal’s flag”.
Considering the fact that this was the first appearance of the junior team in any FIBA competition since 2013, the responsibility is even bigger: “There are no excuses to why Senegal U18 team was not in any FIBA competitions at all. It’s not a matter of talent, it’s a matter of putting the necessary resources and constantly communicating with the players, keeping tabs on them while they are in season and bringing them together in Senegal for camps, clinics or other basketball-related activities. If this does not happen, we will lose them to countries like France, Spain, and Germany, as we’ve seen already happening with some Senegalese players who represent different countries. I don’t blame them at all for playing for a different country when that country shows more interest in them and respects them more. We have so many Senegalese boys and girls basketball players around the world in high schools, colleges and academies and it’s up to the federation to keep track of all of them and show some interest”.
“I am quite confident that we will be fine”
The conditions are questionable not only for the junior but also for the senior teams. “I think playing three games during the September qualifiers was pretty tough”, admits Ndour who is out of action due to injury in the February window. “There were only 16 teams in Africa, Asia, the Americas and 32 teams in Europe and I think only in Africa we played three games in a row during the previous window and the same will happen now. Everybody else played two games and had a day of rest in between. I don’t think that’s fair”.
And everything was a struggle. “Until the morning of the competition in Nigeria, the court was still not ready and we did not get the new fiba basketballs until that same morning. Also, you cannot wait until an hour before the game to call players for individual pictures for your website. We are talking about professional athletes here, so it occurred to me that nobody cares about putting us players in good conditions as long as the games were played on time. That’s all that mattered”.
Ndour believes that Africa simply gets the short end of the stick and also twitted about it: “They will never do that in other competitions in Europe, America or Asia. It’s a privilege to represent our country but it’s not fun anymore when people don’t take your time, your sacrifice and your person into consideration. I am talking about basketball courts with no air conditioning, lack of preparation and poor organization. All of those factors matter because we want to be competitive and we want to show our fans some good basketball. Everyone needs to do a better job of organizing because it’s only hurting national teams. Also, the windows are not convenient for the clubs and coaches who have to let their players go during the regular season and have to worry about them being fatigued, sore or come back with injuries”.
However, Ndour will proudly wear the Senegal jersey once more and he is ready for the FIBA World Cup challenge: “I have no doubt in my mind that we can qualify and return to the World Cup for the second straight time. We only have two losses and what are the chances for these other teams to win three straight games? Anything is possible but the chances of that happening are slim. We cannot underestimate some of the teams for sure but at the same time, I am quite confident that we will be fine. Going to the World Cup again doesn’t seem impossible but the real question should be how competitive, how discipline, how prepared and in what kind of conditions would we be as a team when we get there? That will make a huge difference between winning and losing”.
Photo credit: FIBA