Only 23, Steele had ascended to his position because of a reputation as a keen talent evaluator. But, in Nigeria, his initial appraisal hardly required expertise. He made his assessment seconds after the camp's opening whistle, having watched the players stand up and run to center court.
"They're huge!" Steele said. "This is unbelievable -- even better than I thought. I've never seen this many big kids in one room in my whole life."
Thirty of the players stood at least 6 feet 9, and a half dozen eclipsed 7 feet. Many of them, all ages 14 through 18, would grow taller still. When they ran through layup drills, several players slapped their hands against the backboard without needing to jump.
However
Nigeria lacks the resources, though, to develop that talent, a reality that became clear to visiting coaches during the first session of camp. As a warmup, campers were asked to do the three-man weave, a drill that requires three players to pass to each other while running the length of the court. In the United States, it's a basic exercise common to most middle schoolers. In Nigeria, it's a foreign concept that quickly devolved into disaster.
During an hour spent on the three-man weave, only a handful of groups made it down the court without dropping the ball. Jarrin Akana, an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets, watched and shook his head in dismay. "Some of these things are just so new to them that it's almost like teaching little kids," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment