BAL Elevate Season 4 Player Preview
NBA Academy Africa has teamed up with the BAL to showcase Africa's best talent. Below we an introduction to the most comprehensive guide on the players selected. Enjoy!
BAL Elevate Introduction
As Season 4 of the BAL has kicked off I want to look into the BAL Elevate program to highlight the young prospects selected to participate in this historic event. The Basketball Africa League in partnership with the NBA & FIBA has assigned an NBA Academy Africa player to each BAL squad before this ongoing season. Before this year, it was a draft versus the placement process this year.
The BAL Elevate program is significant not only as a rite of passage for these young talents but also as an alternative pathway being created for elite African talent. Far too often is the African player taught the game extremely late causing him/her to be behind the global development curve in a general sense. Through an intentional approach to start development earlier players are now able to sharpen their skills on an immense stage while staying on the continent.
Africa is extremely diverse in its people and this diversity manifests itself in extremely unique basketball body types and abilities. You will see that evident in the players highlighted in my coming articles! The lightning speed at which we are witnessing the results of this intentional development strategy is a testament to how much talent is present in Africa. Recent & current BAL Elevate alumni include Reuben Chinyelu (Washington State), Babacar Sane (G-League Ignite), Thierry Serge Darlan (G-League Ignite), Joy Oghovodja (Wichita State), and Khaman Maluach (Duke).
Elevate is the introduction of these young players to the world stage, at home in Africa. Look forward to my player breakdowns in the coming days, let the games begin.