Board member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and the proprietor of Markmentors Basketball Club, Igoche Mark, believes the inclusion of home-based players in the national men basketball team, D’Tigers, would go a long way to improve the squad.
Speaking on the backdrop of the number of discoveries made at the recent Mark D’Ball annual basketball championship, Igoche insists there are talented home-based players readily available to the team selector, who can prove their worth if called upon to represent the country.
“We have confronted the coach on this issue and we were made to understand that there was an open camp where all the players fought for shirts,” he said.
“But I have noted that if coach Ayo Bakare (head coach of D’Tigers) is going to still be the coach of the team, we are going to urge him to give more opportunities to home-based players.
“I believe that is the only way we can have more international players; we have to enforce that on the new coach, though with some limits.”
Ejike Ugboaja, a national team player and an Olympian have, likewise, re-echoed the call for the incorporation of home-grown talent in D’Tigers.
“If you are an indigenous coach, and you close the door on home-based players, it all means that you have no regard for the league and its organisers,” Ugboaja said.
