Dreams could be blurry or teary. And sometimes, too, it could make you smile or grin endlessly. However, for former NBA star Olumide Oyedeji, it was a heart-wrenching experience to be told you cannot live your dreams.
The former Orlando Magic star in a chat with the media recalled that he took the dunking game seriously when he got to the university. sports247.ng reports.
According to Oyedeji, the game of Basketball was popular in his secondary school, Loyola College and it boasts of some quality players back then. He received a rude reawakening when he got to Obafemi Awolowo University. Yes, he played it for fun but realised it was no child’s play when he attempted to join the University team.
Even when he was told to go and play with the female team because he was not good enough, his determination and resilience pulled him through.
“I tried to play basketball with the rest of the players, but I was not good enough. I tried to play without shoes, the way I played when I was at Ibadan. I was told that I couldn’t play with them because I had no shoes. I went to Ibadan and used by N90 school fees to buy basketball shoes.
” I came back with the shoes and I was asked to go and start playing with the girls on the other court that I was not good enough to play with them which was true. I cried out of the court that day and was determined that I will be better than any one of them,” he stated.
And he lived his dream. As he went ahead to play professional basketball for two decades, donning the colours of three top NBA teams with aplomb. Oyedeji eventually became a journeyman basketball star who plied his trade with 18 teams in 17 countries.
Renowned for his philanthropy and selfless services to humanity, he was appointed as a Laurels Global Ambassador. Oyedeji is an honourary London Metropolitan Police officer.
