An injury will keep Long Island University’s all-time leading scorer from playing basketball in the Olympics.
This year’s Olympic Games in Rio will bring together some of the top athletes in the entire world, but former Blackbirds star Jamal Olasewere won’t be one of them. It’s a crushing blow for Olasewere, particularly after competing with Team Nigeria for the last three years. Still, he knows that this is what’s best — both for his own basketball future and Nigeria’s chances at winning the gold.
“I wasn’t at 100 percent, and I didn’t know when I would get there, so it wouldn’t be fair to keep me for anybody else who would be actually playing and practicing,” Olasewere said.
The injury is a tough pill for him to swallow. Representing Nigeria has long been a source of pride for Olasewere — he was a key part of the squad’s first-ever AfroBasket championship last year, which secured the Olympics berth this summer.
Olasewere grew up in Maryland, but his parents were born in Nigera and joining the national team offered him a chance to delve into his heritage.
“I was able to see Nigeria for what it really is and that was incredible,” Olasewere said. “Playing with these guys, getting to know new people — it’s been amazing.”
Olasewere doesn’t expect this latest injury to affect his professional career. He’s played overseas since graduating from college in 2013, competing with Italian club Vanoli Cremona, Belgium’s VOO Wolves Verviers-Pepinster and, most recently, for Virtus Roma. There’s still plenty of basketball in Olasewere’s future, but only if he stays off the court for the next few weeks — something he can’t do if he goes to Rio.
“The only thing to do is rest,” Olasewere said. “The trainer told me the biggest thing I couldn’t do with the national team was rest. With an injury like that you keep going at it, you keep going at it and you’re not making it any better.”
Olasewere is disappointed he won’t make the trip to Rio, but he’s also determined to make sure his teammates know he’ll continue to support them. He’s planning to be the loudest Nigerian national team supporter, and he’s as anxious as ever to see how the team will fare against the best in the world — even if his name doesn’t appear on the final box score.
“We talk abut it all the time, and we have dreams about it,” Olasewere. “We know we have the ability, we know we have the talent. It would be the biggest moment in my career — even if I wasn’t on the court — to see those guys medal in Rio.”
