The next generation of Uganda's basketball stars

It began in Kampala in 2014. Marched into Dar es Salaam last year. And the conquest should resume in earnest once the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Ugandan basketball is, to put it simply, still in the golden era. Six years after the Gazelles and Silverbacks historic Afrobasket breakthrough, the floodgates are still open, as last year's FIBA Africa Zone V Women's Club Championship title by the JKL Lady Dolphins shows.

But is that success translating into the emergence of new talent? Is the next Norman Blick or Stephen Omony somewhere on the horizon? And if so are the structures to spot and develop him in place? The temptation to build an altar around the great moments of the last decade is irresistible but as the Silverbacks and Gazelles' failure to qualify for the inaugural FIBA AfroCan in 2019 clearly showed, the future depends on the emergency of some effective home-grown players. The option of player-naturalisation and scouting will remain but the next leap will only happen if Ugandan basketball cracks the code on player-development.

"If our national team is going to perform better, our local players have to improve," says Mohammed Santur, National Basketball Team Committee chairman.

In other words, the golden era will only be truly golden if it builds a bridge to a new, higher class of greats, if the baton is successfully passed from Jimmy Enabu and Ben Komakech to emerging stars like Tony Drileba, Innocent Ochera, Stanley Mugerwa, Ivan Muhwezi, Fayed Bbaale and of course David Dikong.

The broker

Enabu has been Uganda's standout star of the last decade, and along with Komakech, the last great with links to the old school of the Normans and Omonys. Enabu has the toughness and competitiveness of that generation but is very much a star for the millennials.

When he stepped away from the game, in what was initially thought to be a retirement, Enabu received a flood of tributes that cut deep.

"I was shocked by the messages I got," Enabu told New Vision Sport.

"I didn't know that's how people really feel about me and my game. It was very touching."

The cornerstone of the City Oilers' ridiculous seven-year dominance of the NBL, Enabu is a winner extraordinaire yet what is even more astonishing is the class and sportsmanship with which he has carried himself on and off the court.

Both Komakech and Enabu are firmly in the advanced stages of their respective careers so the end is not far.

Komakech's knee problems have not only limited his ability in recent years but inevitably slashed seasons off his twilight while Enabu is pursuing a flying career that will hasten his retirement.

King Kong returns

It means in the next three or four years Ugandan basketball will be in new hands, most likely those long and lumbering tentacles of 6ft8 UCU Canons menace Dikong. Of all Uganda's emerging stars, none has more potential than Dikong, a third-year student at UCU.

Dikong is not your regular 7ft5 wingspan holder. The youngster can put the ball on the floor, shoot it with range and of course dunk it for fun - which is a bit of a big deal in the NBL. Dikong's handle and shot are a long way from being finished products but when you are as tall and athletic as Dikong, the sky is the limit.

"There's no player in this country that has the upside of Dikong," Santur believes. If Dikong gets stronger and develops his ball-handling, shooting and play-making abilities, he will be a Silverback for years.

Bbaale dance

So will Fayed Bbaale, who is a whole two feet shorter than Dikong but not any less talented.  "Fayed will play," Santur argues.

"His intelligence and speed will offset his lack of size. If he doesn't join the Silverbacks by the end of this year. He will join next year."

Last year Dikong and Bbaale led the Canons to within one game of the NBL championship, carrying a young UCU squad further than anyone had predicted. Dikong and Bbaale are so devoted to their craft, their UCU coach Nick Natuhereza often had to chase them off the court because they did not know when to stop. It is that commitment that will enable them get to the next level, just as it did for Tony Drileba.

Perfect Dril-eba

Tony Drileba's talent has never been in doubt but there were times when it seemed the guard would never fulfill his promise.

Besides persistent ankle trouble, Drileba' intelligence often got in the way of his teachability. Drileba can be strong-headed but the last two seasons have seen him learn to channel his smarts and confidence in the right place, which allowed him to soar.

At the start of the 2019 NBL season, Drileba played with such dexterity, he scaled Jimmy Enabu levels. He dropped off as the mileage accumulated but he was still good enough to warrant selection and heavy minutes for the Silverbacks during the FIBA Zone V AfroCan qualifiers.

Drileba has come of age but as he showed at the start of last season, he's got more in him.

The curious case of Stanley Mugerwa

Stanley Mugerwa has more in him too but unlike Drileba there are a lot more questions about how to get it out. For starters, it's not even clear whether it's good for Mugerwa to continue playing at the power forward spot.

He doesn't boast the size necessary for that position given his limited mobility and skill-set. And yet the same limitations mean he can't play at the three spot, where his build would be perfect. Those positional challenges have played a role in the stagnation of one of Uganda's most promising youngsters.

Mugerwa has a good jumper and natural physicality but his future in the Silverbacks depends on a radical transformation from being a post player to a perimeter threat capable of shooting the three-ball and facilitating play. To insist on keeping the current version of Mugerwa is to destroy his chances of having an international career.

He will never be big enough to dominate the paint but his physicality can be influential on the perimeter.

Can Muhwezi step up?

Young talents are often escorted by doubts on their way to greatness and Ivan Muhwezi will have to defy the jury that has been steadily growing to fulfill his promise. Muhwezi is freakishly quick and displayed incredible skill for Uganda's under-age teams when he first emerged on the scene, persuading the City Oilers to sign him up.

Muhwezi is still largely playing on instinct and when he's in full flow, he is a nightmare to defend. But the guard is susceptible to all the intellectual lapses of young age and the Oilers have to figure out ways to improve Muhwezi's basketball IQ.

"I think if we moved him to the point guard position it would improve his decision-making just like it happened with Jimmy Enabu" explains Santur.

How long would such a shift take though? A lot would depend on Muhwezi's commitment to the idea and how hard he's prepared to work at the transformation. On the other hand, will the Oilers afford Muhwezi the luxury of time?

Innocent matters

For explosive two-guard Innocent Ochera, time is of the essence. That is, what is he going to do with it now he's graduated from university. Will Ochera pursue his basketball dream? Or will he shift gears and look to build a career in the professional workspace? Maybe he will juggle the two as the best he can, a tough ask even for unique talents like Ochera.

And the fact he's just joined a new team - JKL Dolphins - means the potential of a tough adjustment period is high. If Ochera somehow finds a solution that affords him enough time to basketball then he will continue his development and establish himself as a true NBL star and maybe even a Silverback.

"Innocent is a player we are watching," says Santur.

"He's very quick, fearless and has a good motor; he can go up and down all day. His teams have not gone deep into the playoffs so we have not really assessed him when the stakes are high. But we are definitely watching him."

As with the individual cases of these emerging players, there are plenty of unknowns about the legacy of Ugandan basketball's golden era. Will it inspire a new generation of stars or will it pass away and take with it all the great moments?