Team Naija Experience

The man with the camera.

Hello everyone,

Most of the people who know or are around me are aware that I was one of the 20 guys selected to participate in training camp with the Nigerian National Basketball Team this summer.  This training camp was for us to compete and earn a spot on the final roster of 12 players.  These 12 players selected would be representing the country in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Unfortunately I wasn’t one of the 12 players selected to the final roster, however, I cannot begin to describe how much of an amazing experience it was.  From the coaching staff, to the trainer Dayo (who is world class), and players as well.  I can’t think of one day where I didn’t enjoy being around them.  The comradery between the guys is unparalleled.  It’s truly a brotherhood; I’m proud and honored to be a part of it.  All that doesn’t even factor in the enormous patriotism displayed by all the individuals that were a part of the #RoadToRio journey.
​
As well as enjoying myself and feeling privileged to have been a part of the preparation process, I learned a lot about myself as a person and as a player.  I learned about a lot of the things that I need to work on both mentally and physically to take my game to the next level.  So all in all, even though I didn’t achieve my goal which was to make the team and be on my way to Rio, I still feel like I’m better for the experience and I’m thankful for it.

As is to be expected, even though I’m not going to Rio, that doesn’t take away from the love I have for my country and it definitely will not change the level of support that I will be showing for my team and my brothers as they go to battle in Rio and take a shot at history. Afterall, I’m a Naija boy for life.

Below is a slideshow of pictures I took during my time with the team. From California to Vegas and back to California.  I’ll try and add a short description to as many of the photos as possible so you know when, where, and what is going on in the photograph.

For the fellas, I'm sorry that I missed some of you.  I tried to get a picture of everyone at some point but we were all always on the move.

As always, thank you all for the love and support. It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Magnificent Su

---