Egekeze gets called back for Team Nigeria

Amanze Egekeze got the call he had been waiting for last weekend from Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown.

Brown, who coaches Team Nigeria, invited the 6-foot-8 forward back to be a part of Nigeria for the third window of the FIBA 2021 AfroBasket Qualifiers, which will take place next week.

Egekeze, a 2014 Huntley graduate whose parents were born in Nigeria, played with the team in November, averaging 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game as Nigeria went 3-0 in Group D to qualify for the third round.

Nigeria opens Group D play with South Sudan on Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Monastir, Tunisia. It also will play Mali and Rwanda. Rwanda will be the host country for the finals, which are set for Aug. 24 through Sept. 4.

“[Brown] had called me two weeks ago and told me there was a chance, especially at my position, that I might not be there,” Egekeze said. “He said there were a lot of guys he wanted to take a look at, but he would put me on the short list of 18 to 20 guys that they were looking for.

“I thought most likely that was going to happen, but he called me this weekend and said there’s a spot for me. I’m really excited to get another chance at it, for sure.”

Egekeze is playing with BC Gries-Oberhoffen in the LNB Pro B League in France, but the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the league’s season twice. Games have been suspended through February, so playing again with Nigeria comes at an opportune time.

“With FIBA [tournaments], you are excused for your team,” Egekeze said. “If you’re not playing for your national team, it’s like a weeklong break for them.

“There are no games with France locked down. It is [advantageous] in a way because there are rumors out there that I’ll have to quarantine for a certain amount of days when I come back. If we were still playing games, that might affect that. So I don’t have to worry about that.”

Egekeze was the 2014 Northwest Herald Player of the Year and played at NCAA Division I Belmont, where he made one trip to the NCAA Tournament. He played professionally for one season in Japan, then played in Greece last year.

Brown will not be with Nigeria in this round, as he is coaching with the Warriors. Nigeria assistant coach Mfon Udofia will take over as head coach. Udofia played at Georgia Tech and coaches the NBA G League’s College Park Skyhawks, who are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. Tori Miller, Udofia’s wife, is the Skyhawks’ general manager.

Brown plans on being back with Nigeria for the Olympic tryouts in June. Egekeze may be there as well.

“[Brown] said he wanted me to come to the pre-Olympics tryout in June,” Egekeze said.