Ex-Kenya basketball star has big dreams for Morans

US-based former Kenyan international Ben “Big Ben” Wanjara was in the country last week to help local stakeholders mobilise funds for Kenya men’s basketball team ‘Kenya Morans’ ahead of the first round of the qualifiers of continental championship Fiba AfroBasket.

And the burly 6’9 tall center, who had a good seal down on the post and kept fans at the edge of their seats with rim-roasting dunks in his heyday says his passion for basketball is still intact and he would want to see Kenyan basketball return to the top sooner than later.

He hopes the qualifiers for the biennial championship, which will be held in Senegal this November, is a good starting point.

“Kenyan men and women’s teams have been doing well of late, and Morans’ qualification for AfroBasket qualifiers should be reason good enough for the government and other cooperates to jump on board and prioritize the game of basketball and give full support,” Wanjara, who last played for Kenya in the 1993 edition of the championship in Nairobi, said.  At the time, the tournament was known as Africa Masculine Championship.

According to him, Kenya has done little to support the game, with the government failing to give priority to the game even in early 90s when Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium used to be filled to capacity as early as 10am in matches involving Kenya Posta and Kenya Ports Authority. 

To the former Kenyan international, this was a clear indication that the game of basketball had won the hearts of many Kenyans.

“The Kenyan government and basketball stakeholders should put politics which have bedevilled the game aside and build on the current goodwill and momentum by Morans  to breath fresh life into Kenyan basketball so as to bring the country at per with other top African countries as was the case before,”  Wanjara, who arrived home on August 15 and returned to the US on Sunday, said.

Wanjara is keen to use his connections in the diaspora to assist the Morans and the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) to revive the sport.

“I am happy that the Kenya Basketball Federation has made the first step of appointing an independent board to run the national team. It is a tremendous thing to have a board because it will have time to concentrate in the national team affairs while the KBF does all other logistics,” he said, adding that he will mobilise all Kenyans in their diaspora to give back to the country by donating whatever little they can to Morans’ kitty.

Wanjara, who had a very brief stint in Kenyan basketball before landing a scholarship to study and play basketball abroad, is appealing to individuals, particularly distance running great Eliud Kipchoge, to help bring corporates on board to help support the game of basketball.

“Big Ben” as he is fondly known, however, wants the current generation of players to take the game of basketball seriously instead of only looking for monetary gains in the sport.

“I can remember in 1993 on my first day of practice with the national team, then chairman Joseph Kimani came to me and expressed his joy at the energy and zeal the players were showing in the game. He was happy with the way players were willing to long live for the team. That was the vision that Kimani had seen, and it was valid, but things failed to work when a majority of the players, I included, left the country to pursue for basketball scholarships in the USA. Many corporates started pulling out of basketball sponsorships,”  Wanjara said.

KBF men’s National Classic League currently has 12 teams.

Wanjara is full of praise for Kenya Morans front court of Bush Wamukota,Ronnie Gundo, Robert Nyakundi, Airel Okal and Taylor Okari and believes Kenya has a big chance of beating Angola, Senegal, and Mozambique to qualify for Fiba AfroBasket finals set for Rwanda next August.

However, he wants the back court to put in a lot of work for Kenya to have a realistic chance of  performing well.

“Our post players are almost there. Wamukota already has a very good mastery of playing at the post but he needs to be more aggressive while Gundo is a very good post player, although small in size. Our point guards are however far from the finished product and should put in a lot of work to get to the level of international basketball,” Wanjara said.

He has appealed to the federation to scout for some point guards abroad.

Wanjara’s basketball history started at Homa Bay High School but went a notch higher in 1990 when he completed secondary school education in 1990.

He then joined Railways basketball team whom he played for even after he had joined Egerton University in 1991 through to 1993 when he left to join Posta basketball team.

It is while playing for the national team in 1993 when NBA International Basketball Operations Senior Vice-president Kim Bohuny and other officials approached him for a chance to play and study basketball in the USA.

“I eventually got the scholarship to study and play basketball at George Mason University an NCCA Division One College which I joined in June, 1994,”, Wanjara says, adding that any attempts by the federation to bring them back home to play for the national team failed due to lack of funding.

Wanjara is not happy that Kenya is currently losing matches against Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda among other nations, saying that the country’s inability to bring home foreign-based players has played a big role in this.