Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh was the “head tutor” of the SpriteBall Basketball clinic organised in Accra and Cape Coast on Friday and Saturday 12 and 13th July, 2014.
The player was in Ghana as part of NBA Africa’s partnership with NBA Africa, Coca Cola and the Ghana Basketball Association and held sessions with a number of teenagers from some senior high schools. The session in Accra was held at the Aviation Social Centre while the one in the Central Region was held at the Adisadel College.
Speaking at the event, Bosh expressed his delight at being in Ghana and sharing his experience with the teenagers.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Ghana Basketball Association, Sprite, NBA Africa for giving me the opportunity to come here. I did not get such an opportunity to be spoken by an NBA star but you here are very lucky to have this chance. You have a special opportunity to play this game.
You have the potential to be very good basketball players and that is good. Basketball is the best game in the world and you must love it and practise very hard. Basketball can do so many great things for you. Never be afraid to dream.
He continued to explain how basketball had opened the door for him to a better life.
“As I was growing in the game, my father told me of how basketball could get me to college and all. It blew my mind knowing that basketball could give me access to one of the best schools in the United States.
I went to Georgia Tech to get some good education and that was possible because of basketball. I got drafted into the NBA after just a year and that was a dream-come-true but I kept working hard on my game and that has brought me to you today.”
CEO of Rite Multimedia, organisers of the SpriteBall Basketball Clinic, Yaw Sakyi told Citi Sports he was pleased with the presence of Bosh and that the clinic had been a success and hoped for bigger initiatives in the near future with NBA Africa and Sprite.
Bosh was not the only professional basketball star at the clinic because he was joined by Ghanaian-British professional basketball player Dzaflo Larkai.
Larkai, who plays in Japan with Sendai 89ers and has won the Japanese basketball league three times, told Citi Sports that he was impressed with the skill levels of the teenagers at the clinic and explained that with enough hard work, Ghanaian basketball players could be heading to the big time.
Ghanaian-British basketball player Dzaflo Larkai
“The guys are very receptive and very willing to learn. That is the way to success in all areas. if you are willing to learn from those who have the experience, you will go far.
They have the talent and for them to go far, it will take a lot of dedication and hard work. They must also seek to stand out from the crowd and be willing to put themselves out there in the public by sending videos to coaches and teams all around. That could be the key to the huge break.”
Aside the skill-learning techniques and drills, the selected players also took part in a slam dunk competition and a three-point contest to test their abilities and entertain the crowds that had gathered at the venue.
By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana