Hoopster has chance to shine

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This article was published 05/06/2022 (1388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brendan Amoyaw isn’t well known outside local basketball circles but he shouldn’t expect that anonymity to last much longer.

Last week, the Winnipegger earned one of 12 spots on the 18-and-under men’s national team and he could be in the starting lineup when Canada faces host Mexico today in the opening game of the FIBA U18 Men’s Americas Championship in Tijuana.

“I knew that I wasn’t guaranteed anything but I knew that if I just went in and did the things I do well and played the way I have to in big situations, then I’d have a decent chance of it working out,” said Amoyaw by phone from Tijuana Saturday.

The 6-9 power forward burst on the national scene after spending an injury-interrupted 2021-22 season at Lincoln Prep in Hamilton, Ont.

Amoyaw, 18, transferred to Lincoln Prep prior to the start of Grade 12 after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out his Grade 11 season in Manitoba where he attended Vincent Massey Collegiate.

Amoyaw was a valuable contributor to Massey’s run to a provincial AAAA varsity boys title during his Grade 10 season but Ontario’s highly competitive prep school circuit proved to be a strong draw.

Another Winnipegger, point guard Waqarra Tessema, was his teammate at Lincoln Prep while Tanah Becker, a Grade 11 forward from Winnipeg, plays for Lincoln Prep’s girls team.

Tanah Becker’s older sister, Niyah, is a Lincoln Prep grad who currently plays Division I basketball at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Brendan’s a tall, talented kid who started to get a little taste of the bigger picture there,” said Basketball Manitoba technical director Dan Becker, who is Tanah and Niyah’s father.

“He’s had some opportunity out at Lincoln Prep and (national team evaluators) saw him more. It’s similar to what happened when Niyah went out there that year — she kinda got respected a little more I guess.”

While Amoyaw has refined his skills in Ontario, he’s also benefited from a major growth spurt.

He was 6-5 in Grade 10, grew two inches in Grade 11 and arrived at Lincoln Prep measuring 6-8. He grew another inch during the 2021-22 season but was sidelined for more than a month with a broken thumb.

Amoyah has developed into a powerful rebounder and finisher around the basket.

“Rebounding is one of my main things I bring to the team, specifically,” he said. “And just getting to the rim — especially from the perimeter I can take the ball with a few dribbles to get around a defender and get to the rim.”

Amoyaw remains undecided about his NCAA Division I intentions but interest in his services has intensified during the recent national team training camp.

He is also considering the possibility of reclassifying for the 2023 school year.

“He’s getting a lot more interest now because basically just because he made the national team and if he’s going to start, people are going to see him, too,” said Becker, adding Amoyaw’s size has changed the college recruiting equation. “You go from 6-5 to 6-9… plus he’s got a seven-foot swing span and he’s got good length and he’s a good athlete, it changes everything. It’s a whole other level of prospects.”

Canada faces Argentina on Tuesday and Brazil on Wednesday in Group A round-robin play. The top four teams in the tournament will qualify for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2023.

“My family’s been really supportive and I have them to thank for a lot of the opportunities that have come my way,” said Amoyaw.

FREE THROWS: Brendan Amoyaw and Waqarra Tessema are also slated to play for Manitoba’s 18U team at the Canada Summer Games in… Winnipeggers Ramogi Nyagudi (St. Paul’s High School) and Tanah Becker will trying out of Canada’s teams preparing for the U17 men’s and women’s worlds later this year.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14