Two month league format doesn’t make sense – Odaudu

Two month league format doesn’t make sense – Odaudu

...Questions D’Tigresses’ World Cup preparation

Rivers Hoopers head coach, Ogoh Odaudu, has questioned the structure of Nigeria’s domestic basketball league, describing the competition as little more than a tournament because of its short duration.

He gave this verdict during a television program.

Odaudu, a former head coach of the D’Tigers, said the current format does little justice to players and teams who spend most of the year preparing for a competition that lasts only a couple of months.

“People practise all year round just to come and play basketball for two months. It doesn’t make sense,” Odaudu said.

“It’s not really a league; it’s more like a tournament. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that, but that’s how I see it.”

His comments highlight one of the long-standing concerns surrounding the development of Nigeria’s domestic basketball, the lack of a sufficiently long and consistent competitive calendar capable of keeping players active and teams properly tested throughout the year.

Despite his reservations about the structure, Odaudu believes the quality of the teams competing this season has made the championship race particularly difficult to predict.

The Rivers Hoopers coach dismissed the suggestion that the playoffs would boil down to a two-team battle, insisting that four teams have a genuine chance of lifting the title.

“From what I saw and the level of basketball on display, no team is going to have an easy game in the playoffs,” he said.

“So, it’s not proper to say it’s going to be a two-horse race. No, it’s not a two-horse race. I would say it’s going to be a four-horse race, and the fastest horse at the end of the day will be crowned champion.”

Odaudu also turned his attention to the D’Tigresses’ disappointing campaign at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany, where Nigeria failed to win any of its group games.

For the former national team coach, the circumstances surrounding the team’s preparation raised serious questions about how much time was available for the coaching staff and players to build the cohesion required to compete at the highest level.

“I simply cannot understand why the head coach of a team would only join forces with the players two or three days before the main tournament begins,” Odaudu said.

“It doesn’t make sense. How do you expect the team to play effectively under those circumstances?”

His criticism points to preparation and team cohesion as major factors behind Nigeria’s struggles, arguing that international tournaments of such magnitude cannot be approached with only a few days of collective training.

Odaudu, believes that, the issues facing Nigerian basketball extend beyond what happens on the court. From the structure of the domestic league to the preparation of the national teams, he believes a more deliberate and sustained approach is required if Nigeria is to consistently compete at the highest level.