What about the Local Players?

As an athlete, we all have those moments when we feel we are good at what we do, and nobody can take that away from us. We get to certain points in our sports life and feel like our game is the greatest version of ourselves. In my local language, we call it "okwemanya." It translates to knowing yourself. It's like a beautiful woman who knows she is beautiful and doesn't need anyone telling her. That is some good confidence unless it overshadows your ability to do better than just the good looks and your performance as an athlete. It then becomes a disaster for you as an individual. It deters your growth as you are comfortable where you at. It makes you repulsive to individuals that would have loved to support your development since you feel like you have it all figured out.

Play hard or go home.

I was supposed to start my college career last summer, but due to the long documents and paperwork needed, I had to put it off till the spring semester. When I arrived, I had this ego about my three-pointer shot. Come on, you can't be guarding me loosely at the top. I would shoot you all day. Anyway, down the road, I got frustrated when my shots seemed to have departed from my body when I boarded the flight to exit Uganda. I had to be placed on a training schedule for shooting again from the basics. The hand movement, the body flow, the ball grip, and the release. It felt like the first time Coach Nick taught me how to shoot while I was in my senior two. I would get frustrated when my shots still acted out, and everything seemed to go nowhere. I had so many bad habits to unlearn and so many good habits to pick up. Progressively, my shot has become way better than what I initially thought was the magic shot. I told the coach someday, "I can't believe I used to shoot like that, and my shots used to enter."

Remember, I had to adjust to playing under air-conditioned wooden courts in all this learning. I was used to tarmacked courts and playing under the hot sun. The more frustrating aspect of it, the 3-point line in U.S.A. college basketball varies from the 3-point line by F.I.B.A. It's further. In two months, people around me started telling me I had a great shot. But, of course, old habits die hard. Once in a while, I will be trapped in the web of my poor habits and reminded to keep squared up. I have not had a fair share of playing games yet, but I am looking forward to the summer. Excited about the games. But I have had a fair share of playing pick-up at open college gyms and community courts. You compete against kids who have been playing basketball since one. It's like basketball is what they were born for. They challenge you, and sometimes you may question yourself, "Naye nfa ki?" You recall you want to play for your country, so you continue the grind.

Iron sharpens iron. I am not a worshipper of developed countries but a student of their systems. We have a lot of good practices to learn and see how we can make them best practices in our different fields in our home countries. The sports industry has greatly been ironed out to sharpen and produce the best of the best. As an athlete, you are challenged to either go hard or go home. Leagues are highly competitive, providing an opportunity for our local athletes that have moved in search of growth in their sports to become elite sports exports for our nation. We are blessed that these athletes maintain our country's citizenship at the end of the day and are at the forefront of playing for the nation. Our local sports leagues have done a great job producing some athletes that have moved on to play in other countries. With the addition of these international-based athletes to our National Squad comes expertise, experience, and learning opportunities for the local-based players, which will lead to the improvement of the quality of the local players and the development of the league.

This is a call to the celebration of women's basketball in Uganda.

The argument may be that the local-based players will lack a chance to compete against the foreign-based players. This fearful thought eliminates the fact that we should be glad that these foreign players are a direct product of our local leagues. The development of the National Squad shouldn't be solely left to the international players because the local players have a fair share in having a competitive edge against the international players. With the Women's Afro Basketball games around the corner, the Federation has called upon nine foreign-based players, and this has caused panic among the local-based fans and some players. It should be a point of celebration that women's basketball in Uganda has foreign-based players. This shows a growth trajectory in our sports industry. There is more room for more girls to benefit from the network of the girls that have made it to these foreign leagues. The addition of foreign players indirectly draws more attention to Uganda's basketball, and soon, more girls will have an opportunity to become scouted or, more so, learn from international players.

A local saying in my language translates to, "A child that doesn't travel thinks that the mother is the best cook." The foreign-based players have been able to play against some of the top W.N.B.A. prospect players and other European leagues. Considerably look at the group in which Uganda is placed. Study the players that have been called to represent Mali and Senegal. A handful of local players made it. Tracing back these two teams, they are also the giants in basketball on the continent and have previously used these same foreign players. It may be suitable to argue that using foreign players doesn't equate to the team's success, as some teams on the continent fail miserably despite having rosters packed with foreign players. It doesn't eliminate the fact that the selected players have had a top-level experience, and they will be valuable to the country's basketball in the long run.

As tough as group C.

As basketball fans, we shouldn't look at international players as foreigners as they are actually our country's products. We should continue to seek growth in our sports industry both on the international and domestic levels. Let us not get comfortable (okwemanya) but instead get ready to be challenged. In the long run, think of African athletes playing in European or American leagues (active or retired) and curiously follow up with their storylines. They bring more to the nation than what meets the eye. Let's shed some light on Jean Sseninde, who played for Crystal Palace in London. She is currently a club owner in Uganda and has a great network with FIFA in various capacities that she is using to develop grassroots soccer in Uganda. The likes of Clare Lamunu; she is establishing a world-class basketball facility in her hometown, Gulu. There are many more athletes we would discuss, as the list is endless. It's our duty to think beyond the fear of losing local athletes when it comes to the involvement of foreign-based athletes. It's a call for celebration instead.

Just saying Argentina would not refuse to call Messi for the World Cup because he is not playing in the local league back home. All the best to the Uganda Gazelles as they battle through the tough group we were placed in!