After enjoying a successful college basketball journey in the US, talented forward Osborne Shema says he is ready to focus on playing professional basketball as he joins local giants APR Basketball Club.
Despite juggling his basketball career and studies in the past, the 2.13man has already shown glimpses of his quality especially on the national team where he was one of the key players that made Rwanda qualify for the FIBA AfroCAN tournament in 2023.
The 26-year-old has featured for various schools in the US since 2017. This year, he graduated from Iona University in New York and returned home to join APR.
"I want to become a great player, a great person; and I want to leave a good legacy. So, I am really looking to invest a lot of time in becoming a professional basketball player,” he told Times Sport in an interview.
At APR, Shema is at one the country’s most ambitious clubs that has a massive project aimed at dominating not only Rwanda but also Africa.
As the team dares for big things, Shema says he wants to win with it, but also make an impact on the national team.
"I want to win, first of all, and I want to try to play at the highest level. If I play for the national team, we could get to qualify for the Afrobasket and try to win the Afrobasket,” he says.
Born in Rwanda, Shema started playing basketball at age 16. His talent shone bright when he was a student at Lycee de Kigali. It was there that he was spotted by one of the officials of the Rwanda Basketball Federation (Ferwaba).
As a result, he got an opportunity to play basketball in the USA in 2016. He travelled and joined a junior college in New Mexico, called New Mexico Military Institute. After that, he went to Iona University in New York.
His basketball journey in the USA had some outstanding moments including being named on the best team of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, as well as defensive player of the year in 2020.
Shema boasts great qualities on the court including good passing, vision of the floor, shooting as well as size.
At APR, he is working under Mazen Trakh, a coach with NBA experience, having served on the technical benches of teams including the Detroit Pistons.
Trakh says Shema is a big asset for both APR and the national team due to his skills and basketball IQ.
"Having Osborne back in the country and playing in Rwanda is huge for us and for the national team. He is a player that spent five years in the United States, four years at a top university. He knows how to play basketball; he has played against the best talents in the United States in the college system,” the American coach told Times Sport.
"Since he has been here, he has been great for us, dealing with the players and helping out on some stuff that we do offensively and defensively. He can shoot the ball, he can run, he can rebound and he has a great attitude and a great work ethic,” he added.
This year, Shema has a huge platform to showcase his basketball at the upcoming playoffs of the Rwanda Basketball League, or even the Basketball Africa League (BAL) if his team makes it to the continental showpiece.