The more SA’s basketball federation and sporting administrators believe in the potential of the sport in the country and pump resources into grassroots and senior level, the quicker SA can become a dominant force on the continent.
That was the advice shared by NBA side Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who attended the 20th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa camp at the American International School of Johannesburg in Midrand.
That is the method Serbia, where Rajakovic is from, used when the nation was named Yugoslavia before gaining independence in 2006.
Yugoslavia won a gold medal in the sport in the 1980 Olympics.
As in SA, basketball is not the first choice for children in Serbia as there are several competing codes including soccer, volleyball and handball.
However, the country’s sporting officials gave their basketball federation the attention it needed through funding and building basketball academies throughout the country.
The country has since produced big names such as Nikola Jokic, who won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2023/2024 seasons.
As per the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), the country’s men’s basketball team is fourth in the world and their women’s 10th.
Rajakovic said the success came down to investment and did not happen overnight.
He has been part of youth mentorship programmes, ensuring the baton of success is passed down from generation to generation.
Though SA became a member of Fiba in 1992, the sport is still struggling to rise in the ranks.
South Sudan, with financial backing from two-time NBA All-Star Luol Deng as well as government assistance, has quickly transformed into one of the best basketball nations on the continent, qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
SA’s sports industry contributes R60bn annually to the country’s economy, a substantial figure given its GDP of about R5-trillion.
SA is regarded as a well-resourced country as far as basketball goes.
The SA men’s team only returned to the international domain earlier in 2024, after having been inactive since 2017.
This was mainly because the federation withdrew from several qualification competitions due to several reasons, with the lack of finances topping the list.
“Yugoslavia and Serbia have a long tradition of basketball which started way back in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” Rajakovic said.
“We were able to continue our systems from the past because we started working with players from a young age and that is the biggest thing if SA is to be successful.
“Organise youth programmes. If you do that you will be unstoppable.”
Part of the youth programmes helping SA become a better basketball nation was the BWB, which was attended by six young SA prospects, who came from the junior NBA programme run at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng.
Rajakovic was part of the BWB camp together with notable coaches such as Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell (US), Orlando Magic assistant coach Jesse Mermuys (US), and former NBA player and Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Ekpe Udoh.
The six prospects included Lana Schreyer, Reatlegile Taukobong, Ntokozo Thonga, Sinqobile Thwala, Tinyiko Makhubela, and Ikechukwu Ejike, all 17.
Taukobong and Schreyer, who were among 30 girls from across Africa who took part in the recent four-day camp, described it as an eye-opener.
“It was unimaginable being coached by WNBA players.
“That is not something you get often in SA, there was a lot of pressure but the workshops we had helped us,” Taukobong said.
Schreyer, who worked hand-in-hand with decorated retired women’s basketball player Sylvia Fowles, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, said communication and technique on the court was the vital part that was lacking in her game, which she would take home.
Despite missing out on being named in the BWB camp’s boys’ all-star team, Makhubela played a crucial role in getting his Hawks team a win in the final of the inter-squad games played on Tuesday.
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