Nigeria s Rivers Hoopers shine at BAL due to improved preparation

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Rivers Hoopers opened their Basketball Africa League campaign with two straight wins, including an upset win against hosts and last year's finalists AS Douanes, all but banishing the bad memories from their first season.

Three years ago, the Nigerian champions lost their opening two games, and only beat Malagasy side GNBC to finish with a 1-2 record as they were eliminated in the group phase. The next year, they were disqualified due to government interference in the team.

In 2021, much was expected of Hoopers as Nigerian champions in the COVID-induced bubble in Kigali, but the disappointment of their results left a bit of a sour taste. Three years later, they are looking very much like what they were expected to look back then.

That said, the Kingsmen still have to win at least two more games to reach the playoffs in Kigali, but coach Ogoh Odaudu is pleased with what they have been able to show so far.

Odaudu told ESPN of the difference between the seasons: "The key to BAL is the preparation and the actual recruitment of the players. If you come prepared, you know that you can make some noise.

"We came into that first edition blind. We didn't know what kind of stage it was, we didn't know what we were coming to face. We just came and thought we were going to play basketball.

"Of course people who know what it was all about had recruited well. We had a good recruitment too but preparation was not top notch and that was it."

He says Hoopers took to heart the lessons of that experience: "Even though we didn't go for the second one, we watched all the games, we saw how it was going. Third edition, we saw how big it was becoming and so this one we knew we needed to make key recruitments.

"We knew we needed someone with BAL experience who could hold fort at point guard for us, and it turned out we ended up with Will Perry who is a fantastic add on for us. We also had Kelvin Amayo who came in third last season with Stade Malien. And Joel Wilkins too."

But it wasn't just about adding bodies, Odaudu said. It was also about making sure they had enough time to practice with and prepare together as a group, a luxury they did not have the last time.

The coach added: "For the first tournament, we only had our import players about five days before we travelled to Kigali. They only met us in Lagos. One of them had to meet us in Kigali, and because it was in the bubble, and he needed to COVID protocols, he ended up not practicing with us until one day before jump ball.

"But this time we had our players in early. Some of them came almost a month before. The person that came last came two weeks before. So we had everybody around, we practiced together as a team, they got to know each other, there was team bonding, we flew them all back to Port Harcourt and we gave them some Port Harcourt hospitality. That was a good thing for us."

Point guard Will Perry, who is a BAL veteran after playing in all but the first edition, told ESPN it was important for the team to have that time together: "It was great spending time with the guys, practising, eating Nigerian food and getting to know everyone."

Perry and the other imports have been key to Hoopers victories so far. The American has been imperious as point guard, dictating the pace of the play, running the floor and draining shots with ease.

Odaudu says he picked them for that reason, as part of the lessons of their previous experience and seeing Kwara Falcons, the only other Nigerian team to have participated at the BAL go 0-5.

"We wanted players who are not just going to come to make some money. We wanted players who are committed to the team and after I spoke to each of the players one on one, I knew that they were the ones we wanted. And they are showing it," he said.