I have been playing basketball professionally for 10 years and my career has taken me to 12 different African countries including; Morocco, Tunisia, Seychelles, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Nigeria, Libya and Togo, where I have roots and family. As an American, who also carries a Togolese passport, the latter has been a great benefit for my career on this continent.
See, my dream, while playing basketball in Africa was always that a Euroleague format tournament would be formed, where the best clubs on the continent could compete.
This year, that dream came true when the Basketball Africa League (BAL) was formed by the NBA. This is a great thing for me, because it will give me the platform to continue to build my name and brand in Africa.
I was very excited because I knew with me having an African passport, I would have many options to sign with a good team, because each team can sign two players from the rest of the continent and two overseas players. Two months after the league was announced, I remember clear as day, my agent calling me at 4 a.m. telling me he has a deal done for me to play for Senegalese club As Douane. In my mind, it was a perfect situation to play with a great team and coach Mamadou Gueye Pabi.
Two days later I got on a nine hour direct flight to Dakar. I reached Senegal on March 3, and the league was set to launch 10 days later. I practised with the team for a few days and was very excited. I had a feeling we would do well in the competition.
During this time of practice with the team, the cases of COVID-19 were beginning to rapidly spread globally. News was starting to filter through that the league was being postponed because of the COVID-19 spread uncertainties. There were already 12 cases at the time in Senegal and everyday the number was increasing.
Two weeks later I realised that the situation was only getting worse and decided to travel back to the USA. I am currently in Chicago where we are also feeling the impact of COVID-19 on a daily basis. We are all under quarantine and everything is closed: shops, schools, recreational facilities, you name it. You see, the disease knows no borders.
Hopefully, things can go back to a new normal. We all have to work together, stay home so this virus can be controlled and players can get back to the court, and people back to work. Right now, my focus has been training at home and doing all that is necessary to stay in shape. I know as soon basketball resumes, as players, we will have to return in the best condition to play.
The BAL dream may be temporarily deferred, but one thing is for sure: this virus won’t stop my plan to continue building my brand across Africa!
