Sports Poets Society

Born January 1, 1970 (age 45), Zaria , Nigeria Nationality: American Alma mater Bismarck State College Montana State University-Billings Occupation MLSE General manager Masai Ujiri (born ca. 1970) is the general manager of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA . He is a native of Zaria , Nigeria . Early life The son of a doctor mother and a hospital administrator/nursing educationist father, Ujiri originally played football as a youth before focusing on basketball. His interest with basketball started as a 13-year-old playing with friends on outdoor basketball courts in northern Nigeria. This interest would be fed by American sports magazines and VHS tapes of NBA games or basketball movies. He admired Hakeem Olajuwon , an NBA star who was born in Nigeria.   Career Ujiri grew to be 6-foot-4 and emigrated to the United States to play two years of basketball at Bismarck State College , then transferred to Montana State University-Billings , though he left the latter school after...

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford (above left, with happy-looking coach Gregg Popovich and owner Peter Holt)  http://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/1/28/3916228/spurs-general-manager-excellence-r-c-buford   There are innumerable reasons for the success that the Spurs have enjoyed over the last decade and a half, but one area fans often overlook is the role that the team's general manager, R.C. Buford, has played in helping San Antonio stay in position to annually compete for a championship.     By Jesus Gomez @JejeGomez_PtR on Jan 28, 2013, 10:15a This past week, reports surfaced about Chris Hansen, the prospective new owner of the would be Sonics, targeting Spurs GM R.C. Buford as his first choice for the position if the Kings were sold and moved to Seattle . It wasn't long before reports about how R.C. was not interested surfaced. Look like it would take a whole lot of money or some unforeseen circumstances for Buford to leave after working ha...

http://www.gazzetta.it/Nba/12-01-2014/nba-antetokounmpo-giannis-greco-milwaukee-bucks-ambulante-202046438553.shtml   Il 19enne greco dei Bucks è figlio di immigrati nigeriani che per anni hanno vissuto illegalmente in un quartiere di Atene vendendo riproduzioni di griffe famose per strada. Al primo anno in Nba molti vedono in lui un potenziale da stella. Compreso Kevin Durant, a cui viene paragonato  Michele Talamazzi, Gazzetta dello Sport  12 gennaio 2014 - Milano   Chissà se un domani si parlerà del Draft 2013 come quello in cui Giannis Antetokounmpo venne scelto “solo” al numero 15. Già il fatto che i primi mesi di Nba del rookie dei Milwaukee Bucks abbiano dato adito a questa ipotesi è però indicativo di quanto sia grande il suo potenziale. Catapultato in pochi mesi dalla serie A2 greca all'Nba, nessuno si aspettava dal 19enne un impatto immediato: invece Antetokounmpo si è fatto largo nella fiducia di coach Drew fino a guadagnarsi il pos...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/from-selling-sunglasses-on-street-to-nba-player-on-the-rise--greek-freak-living-the-american-dream-214309752.html By Adrian Wojnarowski March 18, 2014 10:50 AM Yahoo Sports ST. FRANCIS, Wis. – Within the walls of his three-bedroom apartment , Giannis Antetokounmpo had come to combat the beginnings of a long winter's loneliness with the preferred passage of untold young NBA players: PlayStation 4. Thousands upon thousands of hours are unapologetically consumed in the mesmerizing grasp of the flickering images on screen, and perhaps few hands so enormous had ever wrapped themselves around the game's controls. The cold winds had come sweeping across Lake Michigan , colliding into glass doors on a balcony that belongs to t...

Born to Aboubakar and Anjirlic Aminu on September 21, 1990 in Atlanta , Al-Farouq Aminu is an American-Nigerian professional basketball player of the NBA as well as the Nigeria national team .  He has an older brother who is a fellow Olympian, Alade, and a younger brother, Al-Majid . Growing up, Al-Farouq and Alade had an eternal basketball battle in the driveway of their Stone Mountain, Georgia home . The family believes that the big-brother competitiveness contributed to his competitive drive and toughness that he has today. Al-Farouq attended Wesleyan School and transferred to Norcross High School his sophomore year and played under coach Eddie Martin . As an upperclassman, Aminu helped Norcross to Georgia 5A state titles in 2007 and 2008 and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008 . He was named the state of Georgia's "Mr. Basketball" that year (2008) . Aminu played in the 2008 McDonald's All-American game starti...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Biyombo-110614 Tuesday, June 14, 2011 Updated: June 16, 8:46 PM ET By Chad Ford, ESPN.com TREVISO , ITALY -- More than 100 NBA scouts and GMs pack into a tiny Italian gym at the adidas Eurocamp on a Saturday afternoon . All eyes are on Bismack Biyombo , the mysterious big man from the Congo. Biyombo is working out. He is alone on the court. Trying to prove himself again. Trying to show the world he's for real.  Find out where Biyombo will land in the 2011 NBA draft . Clang. Clang. Clang. All is not going as planned. Biyombo is here to show the NBA world he deserves to be a lottery pick in the 2011 draft , which is less than two weeks away. Right now his audition seems more appropriate for a bricklayer . The more he misses, the more the NBA execs I'm sitting next to scribble in their books. After riding a six-month rise to fame during which he could seemingly do no wrong, Biyombo is ...

Spurs forward Boris Diaw explains the work he’s doing to help educate and teach basketball to young players in Senegal. As told to Peter Walsh, Slam magazine , September 2015 I traveled back to my father’s homeland, Senegal , for the first time in a few years to visit my family and also to host a clinic at the SEED Academy. I’ve been working with SEED for years but realized that not much was being done for young women basketball players in Senegal , so I partnered with SEED to help launch the girls school. I’m really dedicated to helping the girls in the classroom and on the court and leading the clinic was an amazing experience. It has been great being able to support the program and help run the women’s academy. When I arrived, the girls were really happy to see me, and they were smiling a lot and wanted to show that they can do great things on the court and in the classroom. It was a short clinic but we were able to go through a lot of drills and the older girls ...

16 July 2015, 09:30 The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today the full rosters for the first NBA game in Africa, which will take place August 1 at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.   The sold-out NBA Africa Game 2015 will feature a Team Africa v Team World format and will be played in support of Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa, SOS Children’s Villages Association of South Africa and the Nelson Mandela Foundation . The game will air live in the US on ESPN at 9:00 a.m. ET and in Africa on SuperSport at 3:00 p.m. CAT. Team Africa , comprised of players born in Africa and second-generation African players, will feature team captain and two-time NBA All-Star Luol Deng (#9 Miami Heat; Great Britain; born in South Sudan),  Al-Farouq Aminu (Portland Trail Blazers; US; parents from Nigeria),  Giannis Antetokounmpo (#34 Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; parents from Nigeria),...

Milwaukee's Giannis Antetoukounmpo has already risen from unkown prospect to fan favorite... and at 20 years old, he's just getting started. by Peter Walsh, Slam magazine #185, March 2015 The Milwaukee Bucks have just beaten the Brooklyn Nets in a marathon triple-OT game at the Barclays Center and the visiting locker room is abuzz. Though it’s only November, the halls of Barclays are swarming with enough groupies, media members, hangers-on, agents and the like that it feels like a big late season win. Jason Kidd’s son, TJ, ecstatic to see his father earn a win in the head coach’s return to Brooklyn, is dapping up every Buck in sight. In one corner of the locker room, OJ Mayo does his best Birdman impression and let’s out an audible, “Rich Gang!” And coming from an unseen section of the locker room is the sound of young forward Giannis Antetokounmpo singing and laughing loudly.  Emerging from the showers and moving gingerly across the locker room after playin...

Named to the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie Second Team... Participated in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and the Taco Bell Skills Challenge during 2014 All-Star Weekend in New Orleans... In 2013, named All-Greek A2 Newcomer of the Year, Co-Rookie of the Year, and to the Second and All-Defensive Teams by Eurobasket.com... Member of the Greek National Team for the 2014 FIBA World Cup 2013-14 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 77 appearances during his rookie season ... ranked among the NBA’s rookie leaders in scoring (11th), rebounding (T-4th), assists (T-10th), FG% (9th), 3P% (4th), FT% (9th), steals (6th), blocks (4th) and minutes (5th) ... scored in double figures 23 times and grabbed 10+ rebounds twice, with both efforts resulting in double-doubles ... led the Bucks in blocked shots on 22 occasions, second on the team behind John Henson’s 40 such games ... finished the season with 61 total blocks, which led all NBA r...

2013-14 SEASON: Acquired from the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 7 and averaged 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal in 33.8 minutes over 40 contests with the Cavs ... Tallied 13 points on 6-12 (.500) shooting and seven assists in 25 minutes against Detroit on Apr. 9 ... Recorded 15 points on 6-12 (.500) shooting, five rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes against Indiana on Mar. 30 ... Notched his 8th 20-point game as a Cavalier after finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes at Brooklyn on Mar. 28  PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2012-13 (Chicago): Played in 75 games (all starts) and averaged a team-high 16.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.08 spg and 0.43 bpg in 38.7 mpg (first in the NBA) and shot .426 from the field, .322 from behind the arc and a career-high .816 from the line … led the team in scoring 22 times, in assists eight times and in rebounds seven times … posted a team-high 67 games with 10-plus points, including 22 contests with 20-plus poi...