After accomplishing multiple goals throughout his career, former San Antonio Spurs player Ime Udoka said in a recent FIBA article that playing in next years London Olympics would be a dream come true.
The World Championship was great, but the Olympics are a dream. I’ve accomplished a lot in my career, many of the goals I have set, so to go to the Olympics would be the icing on the cake. It’s the biggest sporting event in the world.
To represent Nigeria, to be able to walk out at the opening ceremony – my sister’s been there with the team in Athens and she told me all about the experience – it would be a dream come true. That’s what we are striving for, that is why we are working hard every day.
And it’s not just an ex-Spur who is chasing Olympic gold. Some of the current and future Spurs’ international players such as Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter, and Davis Bertans are gearing up for their respective tournaments for an Olympic bid to begin next week. And most of those players have described similar feelings to represent their country.
Udoka has the same amount of respect for the Olympics as well, but his feeling go a bit further.
It would mean a great deal, it would mean a lot to my father who has passed away, to his memory, so I’m striving to get there and make Nigeria proud.
When with the Spurs, Udoka was a class act. He was very tough and stern in the ways that he approached defense, which caught the attention of head coach Gregg Popovich. However, he never panned out as the perimeter defender most Spurs fans had hoped he would be. Also, he had huge defensive shoes to fill with the departure of Bruce Bowen.
Udoka last played 20 games with the Spurs last season before being let go, he’s 34 years old right now and I believe, he can still do some damage with Nigeria, and also the NBA when the lockout ends.
(Photo: FIBA.com)
