By Jacob Ajom

Members of the Nigerian basketball fraternity defied the heavy downpour on Saturday, August 21, to attend Coach Mark Balogun’s book launch at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos. The vice President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Babs Ogunade, Veteran basketball coach, teacher and Technical Director of the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation, O’Brien Atoki, administrators, coaches and players graced the occasion.

The book titled ‘Understanding the Game Basketball’, is an attempt at simplifying the fundamentals of the game of basketball to beginners. According to the author, it’s a book for lecturers, teachers, coaches, trainers, players and beginners.

Speaking at the book launch, coach Balogun said the 87-page book was a child of necessity. “I realised that most of our coaches lack the basic knowledge of the game and you can’t give what you don’t have,” he said, adding that concerned about the negative impact the wrong teachings of basic skills could have on the younger ones.

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“I noticed that most basketball coaches are quacks and I feel bad when I see people teaching wrong skills. I just felt the only way to change all that was putting the correct thing in print, hence my decision to write this book.”

Reviewing the book, retired coach O’Brien Atoki asked, “Do you want to understand and play basketball?. If you are skilled, what about the rudiments, the history of how basketball started in Nigeria?” adding that all the answers were provided in the book. He said the book also teaches the basics of the game. “Movement with or without the ball, when to dribble and when to release the ball, etc.”

Vice President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Babs Ogunade said the book could not have come at a better time. “The book is a welcome development as it captures the history and essence of basketball. We lack data, statistics in this country and that is the gap Balogun has attempted to fill in his book,”

Vanguard News Nigeria