Rivers Hoopers

Rivers Hoopers
Rivers Hoopers logo
Nickname	The KingsMen
Conference	Atlantic
Leagues	Nigerian Premier League
Founded	2009
Arena	Rivers State Basketball Complex
Arena Capacity	2,000
Location	Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
Team manager	Ifie Ozaka
Head coach	Ogoh Odaudu
Team captain	Belema Alamina
Ownership	Rivers State
Championships	4 Nigerian Premier League (2011, 2012, 2019, 2021)
Website	rivershoopers.com

Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian basketball team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League. Established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, the team has played in the Premier League since its inception. Hoopers have won the national championship four times, with titles in 2011, 2012, 2019 and 2021.

History

The club was established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, with Ogoh Odaudu at the reins as head coach. The team won its first NPL championship in 2011.

In December 2018, Hoopers played in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Championship and won all five games to emerge as its Champions and went on to play in the 2019 Africa Basketball League in March. On 17 November 2019, the Hoopers won its third Nigerian title when it beat Raptors in the final. With this achievement, the team qualified directly for the inaugural season of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

To strengthen the team for the inaugural BAL season, the Hoopers acquired former NBA-player Ben Uzoh and Festus Ezeli. Ezeli, however, got injured before the season and did not join. Hoopers finished third in Group A of the BAL, beating only GNBC from Madagascar. Uzoh led the team in scoring with 14.7 points.

In the 2021 season, the Hoopers won the Premier League for a fourth time after edging Gombe Bulls in the final. Anaiye Johnson was named the league's MVP. However, the Hoopers were denied to play in the BAL by FIBA Africa, that cited the organised league was invalid.

Honours

Nigerian Premier League

• Champions (4): 2011, 2012, 2019, 2021

Crown Elite Basketball Championship

• Champions (1): 2022

In African competitions

FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup (3 appearances)

• 2010 – Ninth Place
• 2011 – Eleventh Place
• 2018–19 – Group Stage

Basketball Africa League (1 appearance)

• 2020 – Group Stage

Players

Current roster

The following roster was the Rivers Hoopers team in the 2021 BAL season.

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Rivers Hoopers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G 00 Balogun, Emmanuel 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) – (1998-12-17)17 December 1998 SG 2 Alalibo, Ronald 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) – (1994-05-08)8 May 1994 F 10 Nwaiwu, Buchi 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) – (1998-08-20)20 August 1998 C 11 Koko, Victor 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) – (1992-12-14)14 December 1992 F 12 Ajegbeyi, Solomon 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) – (1995-11-02)2 November 1995 PG 14 Uzoh, Ben 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 93 kg (205 lb) – (1988-03-18)18 March 1988 G 15 Opong, Robinson (I) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 95 kg (209 lb) – (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 SF 21 Osigbodi, Precious 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) – (1995-07-07)7 July 1995 PG 22 Ikechukwu, Benjamin 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) – (1997-06-14)14 June 1997 PG 23 James, Victor 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) – (1996-02-06)6 February 1996 F 24 Sullivan, Taren (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) – (1995-07-30)30 July 1995 PG 33 Owoicho, Simon 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) – (1995-11-23)23 November 1995 C 55 Daniels, Chris (I) 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) – (1984-11-19)19 November 1984	Head coach Ogoh Odaudu Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 16 May 2021

Notable players

• Chris Obekpa (2022) – Nigerian international and former BAL blocking leader.
• Ben Uzoh (2021) – Nigerian international and former Toronto Raptors player.
• Robinson Opong (2021) – Ugandan international.
• Abdul Yahaya (2019–2020) – Two-time Nigerian League MVP.

Individual awards

Premier League MVP

• Abdul Yahaya – 2015, 2019
• Johnson Anaiye – 2021

Premier League Final MVP

• Victor Anthony Koko – 2021

External links

• Official website
• Twitter profile