Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu was Friday, May 31, named the 2024 BAL coach of the year after guiding the Nigerian champions to the BAL semifinals on club’s first playoffs appearance. Odaudu, 42, received the prestigious award a few minutes before his side’s third-place game against Cape Town Tigers at BK Arena. Hoopers won the third place after beating the South Africans 80-57. The 2024 coach of the year award was presented by BAL Head of League Operations Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. A former point guard for the Nigeria national team, Odaudu became the first Nigerian to win the BAL coach of the year award. In his first BAL appearance in 2021, Odaudu’s Rivers Hoopers finished 1-2. Early in May, however, Hoopers took Dakar by storm,winning the 2024 Sahara Conference with a 4-2 mark. They, however, fell short in the semifinal playoffs, losing the final ticket to Libya’s Al Ahly Ly. Since the award’s inception in 2022, past BAL coach of year winners were Jose Neto (2022) and Mamadou Gueye (2023). Meanwhile, the Basketball Africa League announced its 2024 All-Defensive Team on Friday with Aliou Diarra and Samkelo Diarra making the list for the season in a row. Diarra and Cele are joined in the 2024 All-BAL Defensive Team by Abdoulaye Harouna (AS Douanes), and Al Ahly Ly duo Jo-Lual Acuil Jr., and Solo Diabate. BAL 2023 defensive player of the year Diarra (FUS de Rabat) averaged 7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game while Cele, who helped Cape Town Tigers reach the 2024 BAL semifinals, not only led his team in scoring with 21 points per game, but he also made his presence felt defensively, contributing 2.4 steals per game. Acuil-Jr, who headed to the 2024 BAL final averaging a league-high of 22 points per game, contributed defensively with 2 blocks while finishing with 7 rebounds per game. Diabate, who came off the bench for most of Al Ahly Ly’s 9 games this season, disrupted opponents’ plays with 2 steals, while dishing out 6 assists per game while AS Douanes’ Harouna averaged 4 steals per game.
