By Solomon Odeniyi
The Chairman of Osun State BasketballAssociation, Engineer Opeyemi Babalola Webber, said one of his dreams is to raise basketball players that would feature in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Webber said he was leaving no stone unturned to actualise his dream while he remained committed to the development of youths through the game in the state.
He stated this in an online interview with sports journalists in the state.
According to Webber, basketball would develop in the state with the school grown policy, aimed at developing local talents.
“It is a new dawn, and we will always do our best to develop the game in the state. I envision the day Osun Basketball Association will be able to produce superstars that will play in the NBA”, he said.
Webber added: “We are working really hard to achieve this. We are moving from the private and public schools. We are going to do a lot of trainings and courses to make sure we provide the right manpower for their training needs and the trainers that will be overseeing the activities of the kids on the basketball court. And we are going to make sure that they get the right helps in terms of training and we will ensure we accomplish it during our tenure.
“Growing the game at the school age level is key to the development of the game because that is the age bracket that a lot of the children have so much energy to spend on the basketball court, so we are committed to developing the youth.
“One key area is in the development of the required Basketball infrastructure in and around Osogbo, we’ve taking a key interest in the existing infrastructure at the Stadium and the neighboring Schools around the Stadium and we’ve been able to identify the things that need to be done in terms of renovation, additions and human capital development.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has really slowed down the plans we have, and by the time things get better, we will be able to pick up from where we stopped,” he concluded.