THE latest golden boy of
Nigerian basketball, Jordan Nwora said the decision to play for the D’Tigers
rather than wait for Dream Team was pretty easy because of the love for his
fatherland.
The University of Louisville
undergraduate who has been tipped by many as a first round pick in the NBA
draft next year said it was a great feeling having the opportunity to represent
Nigeria.
“It was a case of playing
for Nigeria because I love the country. I have always played in African and
Pan- African teams my whole life back in the state.”
Jordan who became the first
Nigerian basketball player ever to play under his father in the national team
said playing in Africa was the toughest experience he has ever had because of
the physical style of play.
He thanked the fans for the
warm reception which made his homecoming and debut international assignment
easy.
“It was a great first experience playing in
front of the home crowd, so I was just happy that my first qualifying games was
a homecoming. They took me in with open arms and cheered me on. They supported
me in what I was doing.
“First game was a little
rough. It felt great, we had a successful tournament, I am just happy we were
able to have the outcome that we expected,” Jordan continued.
The player who scored 36
points in the team’s last game against Mali to edge out team captain, Ike Diogu
(31) as D’Tigers’ highest point scorer in a single game in competitive game
thanked all members of the team for making him settle down easily in the team.
He singled out team captain,
Ike Diogu, Ben Uzoh and Jeleel Akindele whose experiences proved vital.
“They are all professionals,
high level guys with high level characters. It’s been a great experience having
had to take in a lot from them. They have a lot of experience when it comes to
basketball, so playing with them, there is a lot of knowledge to be gained.”
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