Kandi Man seeks to
conquer
In the first of our occasional series
following "Brits in the NBA", Britball editor Mark Woods throws the spotlight
on the young man who went from Sussex to LA in quickfire time, Los Angeles
Clippers' Michael Olowokandi.
In the week that the one man circus that
is Dennis Rodman rolled into Los Angeles, the City of Angels was getting
used to the sight of its newest basketball hero strutting his stuff on
the parquet. At just over seven foot tall, Michael Olowokandi is the new
kid in town but uniquely one who calls the UK home, his domicile the leafy
expanse of East Sussex rather than the playgrounds of South Central.
Chosen by the Los Angeles Clippers with
the first pick of the annual college draft last summer, 23 year old Olowokandi
is tipped for greatness due to his tremendous athleticism and an eye for
the basket. However his route to the NBA is already the stuff of
legend. In just three years, this son of a Nigerian diplomat has made the
journey from basketball novice to the best league on this planet, learning
the game from scratch at an astonishing rate.
A keen all-round sportsman at school in
Sussex, the giant's sporting energies were until recently channelled into
the very different discipline of long jump, the English Schools record
his finest achievement. It was only when as a first year student at London's
Brunel University, the cajoling of friends to try the sport to which his
height lends a natural advantage finally set the engineering student
on the path to millionaire riches.
"I remember competing at Meadowbank (in
Edinburgh) for Newham & Essex Beagles and at that point by no means
was basketball even at the back of my mind . Shortly after, one of my team
mates suggested I try playing basketball."
Deciding to explore a move across the Atlantic
to pursue the sport, Olowokandi consulted a directory of colleges to determine
his best course of action. "I just happened to open the book
to Pacific for no particular reason," he explained." I just wanted to ask
an American college, any college, if my (college) units were transferable."
Happy to provide an answer was Tony Marcopulos,
the assistant coach at Pacific University in California, an institution
with no previous history of basketball excellence. In taking a risk
on this unknown voice at the other end of the telephone, they could scarcely
have believed their good fortune as gradually the uncoordinated, raw youth
who stepped off the plane matured into the finest player of his graduating
class. Enough of an improvement for the Clippers to take a calculated risk
with his signature.
"When he came in and worked out, it was
amazing the improvement he had shown since the end of the college season,"
admitted the Clippers' Vice President Elgin Baylor. "We knew he had the
mentality to play in this league, but until that day we weren't sure he
had the tools."
The Clippers are the Partick Thistle of
the NBA, under achievers resting in the perpetual shadow of their cross
town neighbours, the LA Lakers. Without a win in the opening eleven games
of this campaign, Olowokandi admits he cannot alone bring an instant reversal
of fortune at the club.
"We're a team in search of an identity.
We've lost back-to-back games, and hopefully we can overcome that. The
thing is even in our losses the guys are positive, the guys work hard and
are willing to learn. I'm happy to get better, and think that we can get
better as a team and stay on the positive side."
So far the signs have been overwhelmingly
impressive, the Kandi Man's best game to date a 17 points and 15
rebounds showing against Vancouver Grizzles a fortnight ago. But in a week
where England's defeat of Belarus moved them one further rung up the international
ladder, does the Clippers centre intend to showcase his talents in a British
vest ?
" Yeah, if that is a possibility in the
future, definitely. Like I always said, I grew up in England and that's
were my friends are and that's where I come home. Definitely that is where
my heart is."
Olowokandi's story so far may be the stuff
movies are made of but now the real work begins. However if commitment
and resolve count for anything, this seems certain to be one sporting story
with a happy ending.
A version of this feature also appeared
in Scotland on Sunday.
