Former African champions Nigeria will resume their FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers campaign next month with a new head coach.
Mike Brown, who guided Nigeria to a 3-0 mark in last November’s First Round of the Qualifiers, won’t be available due to his NBA commitments with the Golden State Warriors.
Alex Nwora, who coached the team from 2017 until the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China, won’t be available either.
Mfon Udofia will be at the helm of team when the 2015 AfroBasket champions take on South Sudan, Mali and Rwanda to complete their Qualifiers campaign in Monastir, Tunisia from February 19 to 21.
Though new to some, Udofia is not entirely new to the team having been with the coaching team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup back in 2019 in China, where Nigeria qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
The 30-year-old will lead Nigeria’s charge alongside other coaches that worked with Brown at the last window in Kigali.
Udofia currently serves as an assistant coach with NBA G League College Park Skyhawks, and according to the team’s website, Udofia joined the franchise after spending a season with the Erie BayHawks.
Prior to Erie, he was an Assistant Coach for the Delaware Blue Coats for two seasons.
The former point guard last played for Polish side Siarka Tanobrzeg before beginning his coaching career.
Meanwhile, Nigeria announced a preliminary squad for the remaining of their Group D of the Qualifiers campaign, keeping most of the team from November.
Seven new players were added to the preliminary squad, including Joshua Ajayi, Zaid Hearst, Abdul Malik Abu, Christian Mekowulu, Michael Oguine, Amy Okonkwo and Nicole Enabosi.
Nigerian Basketball Federation Vice President Babs Ogunade said the federation was working round the clock to ensure D’Tigers have a smooth outing in Tunisia.
Ogunade said: “Nigeria will be camping in Tunisia for one week before the start of the Qualifiers.
“Our players are busy with club engagements at this point, but the federation is putting every logistics in place to make sure the players arrive Tunisia early for the qualifiers.”