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Brimah(35) and teammates start celebrating.
Photo courtesy: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
University of Connecticut freshman and 7ft Ghanaian centre, Amida Brimah became the first Ghanaian to ever play on a team in Division 1 NCAA championship game - and win! We've been following Amida's progress right from the day he left the shores of Ghana to play ball in the states and have even made jokes about how all Ghanaian hoop fans got to turn to Husky fans because of him - Well, there's still limited vacancy on the Husky-bandwagon; you can grab a free seat.
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Brimah and Napier
Photo courtesy: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Amida's team also became the first 7-seed team to win a national title increasing the Huskies' trophy count to 4 of 4 appearances in championship games since their first trophy in 1999. Their coach; a Husky himself and former NBA player Kevin Ollie, who played on 13 teams in a 12 year is also among the few coaches to have won a national title within 2 years after signing a five year deal. Twitter kept buzzing with tweets of excitement for his success from former NBA teammates including Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Amida's numbers weren't monster numbers. This UConn team was led by senior guard and most outstanding player of the 2014 tournament, Shabazz Napier who finished with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. His six-game NCAA Tournament averages were 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals. Brimah finished the game early with foul trouble(as usual) having made no points, 4 rebounds and 1 block in 13 minutes on the court.
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Napier goes for 2 of his 22 while Brimah looks on
Photo courtesy: Getty Images
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| Brimah showed off his plaque on his IG |
The American Athletic Conference(AAC) announced its All-Conference and All-Rookie teams for 2014 earlier this week. If you are a basketball fan in Ghana, this should interest you because 7 foot centre Amida Brimah made the All-Rookie team.
Brimah who's averaging 4.0ppg and 2.8rpg (but 5.1, 3.4 in the AAC) is still being described by many writers as a raw talent. The freshman from Accra is a natural shot-blocker and is third in the league with 2.5 bpg while playing 15.3 minutes a game; the leader has 2.9 bpg.
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Amida goes for block.
Coaches who faced UConn in January, and again later in the season, were impressed by Brimah's development, so his selection was no surprise.
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"He is getting better by the minute," Brown said on Feb. 23.
Said Louisville's Rick Pitino: "He has gotten a lot better, and he's going to be a great one when it's all said and done."
The all-rookie team was filled with big men, including Memphis' Austin Nichols, a favorite for rookie of the year honors, and John Egbunu and Chris Perry, both of South Florida. The lone guard was Louisville's Terry Rozier.
AAC individual awards to be presented Wednesday include player the year, rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, scholar athlete of the year, coach of the year, most improved player, sixth man and sportsmanship awards.
Ben Bentil landed in the USA three years ago and went straight to Haverford school in Haverford, PA. The 6'8'', 225 pounds Ghanaian born forward now of Middletown (DE) St. Andrew’s (calss of '14) has decided to go to Providence College; he tweeted on Monday.
Adam Zagoria of SNY wrote on his blog after Bentil's decison:
''This is a nice pickup for head coach Ed Cooley after he and his staff missed out on Expessions Elite forward Abdul Malik Abu, who picked N.C. State over Providence, UConn and Florida.
Bentil is a powerful four man who can transition into a three.
He joins 7-1 center Paschal Chukwu and 6-7 wing Jalen Lindsey in Providence’s increasingly strong 2014 class.
“Ben Bentil is the perfect complement to Paschal Chukwu,” longtime New York recruiting expertTom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “He’ll be his enforcer. He defines the term power forward. He has a great body, very athletic. he’s got to flesh out his skillset. Right now he’s not a very skilled offensive player but he can rebound, he can defend, and he’s getting a 7-1 center. He’s the perfect complement to Chukwu. They’ll be a great inside tandem because he gives them what the other guy doesn’t have.
“He works extremely hard, he’s one of the hardest working players out there,” Bentil’s AAU coach, Terrell Myers, previously told SNY.tv.
“He can shoot the ball extremely well. He’s become a better passer. It’s him defending the perimeter. Being more of a defensive player on the perimeter at 6-8. That’s one of the thing she’s going to have to do at the next level. He’s a four-three, but as he develops I think he’s going to be a three because he’s a tough kid that doesn’t mind defending.
“He came over here as a raw five and you can see the work he’s put in in three years. With him working, I think he’s going to be a three for somebody’s team and really helping out.”''
