Don't laugh.
Over the years, I've witnessed several trends in basketball: The emergence of European talent; the sophistication of defensive strategies; the ability to exploit the three-point line with outside marksmanship.
But the most recent?
It may be the emergence of Africa has a legitimate recruiting ground.
Not that the NBA hasn't had great players who were from Africa or whose parents were from Africa: Olajuwan and Mutombo come to mind immediately.
But today there are some 55 such players in the NBA. One is a kid who'll be a household name in two years, Jonathan Kuminga. Maybe you can guess which team he plays for. The same one as Andre Iguodala.
Maybe you noticed, Oregon has two kids on their roster from Africa, one from Mali, another from Cameroon. I believe Sac State had one such kid last night, Jonathan Komagum, from Africa via London.
It's a trend.
Are we on it?
Over the years, I've witnessed several trends in basketball: The emergence of European talent; the sophistication of defensive strategies; the ability to exploit the three-point line with outside marksmanship.
But the most recent?
It may be the emergence of Africa has a legitimate recruiting ground.
Not that the NBA hasn't had great players who were from Africa or whose parents were from Africa: Olajuwan and Mutombo come to mind immediately.
But today there are some 55 such players in the NBA. One is a kid who'll be a household name in two years, Jonathan Kuminga. Maybe you can guess which team he plays for. The same one as Andre Iguodala.
Maybe you noticed, Oregon has two kids on their roster from Africa, one from Mali, another from Cameroon. I believe Sac State had one such kid last night, Jonathan Komagum, from Africa via London.
It's a trend.
Are we on it?