When British-Ghanaian power forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning was a kid in London, he had to go far out of his way to find a game of hoops, but the former Washington Husky, who will be playing for AS Douanes in the Basketball Africa League, says the UK game is growing fast.
Bryan-Amaning [34] tried other sports at school, including swimming, football and rugby. However, from the first time he played basketball at the age of four, he simply could not keep himself away from it, despite the hours of travel it required.
The former Cheshire Phoenix player told ESPN, ahead of the start of the BAL on March 11: “You know how it is — it’s not the States — so you play football [soccer]. I played at school and stuff like that but I never took it seriously.
“I did all sports, but basketball was the one [I fell in love with]. In London or the UK, it’s not introduced in schools — back then, [it wasn’t] anyway. It is now, but back then, it wasn’t introduced in schools as much as other sports.
“Where we were playing, it was a club team, so you had to go out of school for hours to go and play, and from a young age I probably did that once or twice a week.”
Fast forward a couple of decades and Bryan-Amaning found himself playing for multiple teams in the British Basketball League, which has grown in popularity since the current format was established in 2012. Aside from the Phoenix, his team before joining Douanes, he’s also played for the London Lions and Worcester Wolves.
Ryan Richards, a fellow Brit who played in the BAL in 2021, agreed with Bryan-Amaning about the growth of the game in the UK, telling ESPN: “I think now there’s more talent because I think social media is putting more talent on the map.
“There’s more hype around it and I think more people are realising there’s money to be made and whenever there’s money to be made, they push it.
“There are more upcoming big talents. I still think they need to leave the UK if they want to develop and be the players they want to be… but it’s definitely growing.”
But before the BBL, there was the USA for Bryan-Amaning, and a chance to play alongside future NBA star Isaiah Thomas in both high school and college… and then the heartbreak of missing out on his NBA dream.
Aged 16, Bryan-Amaning earned a scholarship to South Kent School in Connecticut. He and Thomas both went from there to the University of Washington, but although Thomas was selected by the Sacramento Kings, Bryan-Amaning went undrafted – a surprise to many and a disappointment to him.
“It was mixed emotions, because I knew that it wasn’t a closed door, but it was obviously an opportunity that had been missed. Also, it was 2011, which was the year of the lockout, so I was in a very difficult position,” Bryan-Amaning recalled.
“My agent said, ‘We do have interest, training camp and things like that, but there’s no Summer League this year because of the lockout. It’s up to you what you want to do and if you want to wait, but obviously, you’re not going to get paid or anything until we have some kind of definitive answer.’
“Because of the situation I was in, I ended up taking a job – my first job was in Division I in Turkey.”
Bryan-Amaning would go on to play in Serbia, France, Germany, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Japan, Uruguay, and back home in England. He was also once a regular for the British national team, but his involvement has petered out in the last five years.
His NBA dream never came to fruition despite frustrating Summer League stints at the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers.
But when asked if he felt he still had NBA hopes, he said: “Oh yeah, for sure. I guess I’ll show you guys in the next month or two, but I’ve still got some game left.”
The ‘month or two’ starts in Dakar, Senegal, on March 11, where Douanes will be playing the Sahara Conference. If they finish in the to four, they will progress to the playoffs and finals in Kigali, Rwanda, at the end of May.
His connection to Africa, and thus the BAL, is more than his last name, as his parents now live in Ghana and he goes to visit them often. He also has a strong friendship with NBA legend Luol Deng, who is the BAL’s global ambassador.
Deng alerted Bryan-Amaning to the BAL, where he signed for Zamalek, but COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the first planned season in 2020. In 2021 the new Zamalek coach didn’t sign him, and in 2022 he was recovering from surgery.
He explained: “Luol Deng is a close friend of mine – like a big brother to me – [he is] somebody I grew up with and I used to stay with him when I was in high school and in college in the States.
“He told me about it (the BAL). He was like, ‘Definitely, if you can be involved, talk to people. I can put you in touch with teams, agents, whatever you need to be involved.’
“This year, I’ll be able to show my worth. Obviously, I’ve got experience all over the world playing in Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and everything. Africa is the last continent left to show my game to.”
Bryan-Amaning will be joined by established BAL stars Terrell Stoglin and Chris Crawford and fellow Brit Michael Ochereobia in a fearsome-looking AS Douanes side that will be on home soil for the Sahara Conference (March 11-21).
The Basketball Africa League will air on ESPN in Africa, as well as in select territories around the globe.
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