Abdoulaye Harouna

Harouna happy to be reunited with Mills

ABDOULAYE Harouna’s family ties to basketball were the catalyst that led to him picking up the game and allowed him to spread his wings.

The shooting guard credits his aunt, a former player and someone whom Harouna has high regard for, as the one who influenced him to “fall in love with game”.

“It was my aunt. That is how I fell in love with the game. I used to watch her play, and, in my opinion, she is one of the best female players I have ever seen from Niger. Whenever she had a game or practice, I would watch her. That is where it all began for me,” said Harouna, who furthered his basketball and studies in the United States.

Since returning from the US, the 31-year-old has played professional basketball on the African continent, specifically in the three-year-old Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Harouna, an ever-present in the league since its inception, has played for Forces Armées et Police (FAP), AS Salé and now, in season 3 is turning out for BAL debutants, ABC Fighters.

The Cote d’Ivoire club has already qualified for the playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda (21-27 May), with a 3-2 record from the Sahara Conference. Before ABC’s last conference game, a 90-71 loss to Mali’s Stade Malien on Tuesday, Harouna spoke to The Big Tip Off about what it means to him to be a professional player on African soil.

“It is always a dream for an African kid to become a pro somewhere in the world. Now they have the opportunity to play on this continent, in front of their family, friends and fans. So, it’s great to have that opportunity here in Africa,” said the former AS Nigelec player.

Harouna has played at a high level since the BAL came into existence and has averaged 19 points per game in his first two seasons. This season, his scoring average took a tiny dip (18 points per game), but the 1.96m (6ft5) guard is not concerned about his numbers.

The Nigerien player feels the best of him is still to come.

“For me, it’s okay. I would not say that’s the only good aspect of my game. I think I can get better, and there are other areas of my game I can work on. The work and sacrifice I have put in is also starting to pay off. I have to continue finding ways to get better,” said the Fighters guard.

On his journey to improving as a player, Harouna joined his former AS Sale coach Liz Mills at ABC.

Harouna explained that while he is happy to play under Mills, their relationship is not always plain sailing.

“It’s been great because I have worked with her before. We respect each other. We have a past working relationship. That has made things easy. I can also say that now and then, we disagree with each other. But we do find each other. I also understand that she is the coach,” said Harouna. “I think one of her strengths is her ability to take in the input of players. Sometimes as players, we have to rely on our instincts in certain plays. Not every game is the same, and we have to adjust to change as it happens during game time. She understands that, and it is something I appreciate.”

 

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The veteran guard also explained that he experiences his new team as balanced, unlike his last two teams at the BAL, which were strong on one side but would find themselves lacking on the other.

“What I have seen is that we have a good bench. Our local players are good. They can come in and play, so you don’t have to rely on the imports to play many minutes. The team is well-balanced in offence and defence,” said Harouna. “In my first team, we were good defensively but not good offensively, and we were limited because there were not many options.

“Last year Salè were good in attack but were limited in defence. This year ABC has a good balance at both ends of the floor. That has the potential to make us a great team.”

Harouna feels he is in a situation where he and ABC can capture their maiden BAL title.

He parted by saying they would compete for the BAL title and that it would not fall at their feet.

“We are Fighters. We have to go and fight for what we want. Nobody will hand us the title. We have to go and get it,” concluded Harouna.