SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Whenever the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) decides to announce the D'Tigers new head coach and the team's preparations for this year's AfroBasket, one thing is for certain - team captain Ike Diogu will be ready.

Last week, news began to circulate in Puerto Rico following Diogu's decision not to re-sign with his former club, defending BSN champions Leone de Ponce.

Diogu's decision caught some by surprise, considering his impact in helping the club win the trophy last season.

The 31-year-old Nigerian-American felt confident he would return to the club and help them battle to retain the title, but he then chose to stay away.

In a statement issued on the club's website, Diogu apologised to Ponce fans, stating he was not in a position to accept the offer.

Soon enough, speculation started mounting about his health, with D'Tigers fans wondering how could their national team gear up for Africa's biggest basketball event without the leading scorer from AfroBasket 2013.

When I reached out to him, Diogu was straightforward in explaining his future with his national team.

"The federation has been in contact and are finalising our schedule," he told me at the time.

I’m healthy and will be ready for AfroBasket. Nothing changes at all. - Diogu

Diogu has become an iconic figure for Nigerian basketball in the past few years, especially after helping the birth country of his parents upset Greece, Lithuania and the Dominican Republic at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament to earn a place at the London Olympics.

Nigeria have never won an AfroBasket title and Diogu has often talked about his desire to do everything in his power to help the country achieve that feat.

Has this decision to stay away from Ponce anything to do with his readiness for AfroBasket?

Some suggest so.

If the Nigerians are to succeed at the 16-team event in Tunis and Nabeul, Tunisia (19 to 30 August), they will need to gather the best of their talented roster, hold professional preparations and start off well in Group A against the hosts nation, debutants Uganda and Central African Republic.

If Nigeria fail to put these and other key details in place, they might struggle to secure direct qualification for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

"I'm excited with our group," Diogu said when asked to comment on Nigeria's Group A.

"It will be a very tough group. Tunisia will be tough as will the other teams. We learned from the last AfroBasket [that] we can't overlook anybody and this group of Nigerians will not overlook the competition at all we look forward to a tough challenge."

Nigeria qualified for AfroBasket 2015 by beating neighbouring Burkina Faso in the qualifier.

Known for having some of the best foreign-based talented players, Nigeria seem to have what it takes to be declared a front-runner in Tunisia this summer. But until the federation announces the men's senior team's new coaching staff as well as the preliminary squad, they will remain as the team that struggles to make the most of the talent at their disposal.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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