Veteran Kenyatta University tactician Gitau Waringo is advocating for universities to have their own league.
Waringo said this will immeasurably help improve the standard of the game in the country as well as act as feeder to the premier league clubs.
“Universities have many teams in all the tiers of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) league and it is about time they formed their own league and had their own identity,” he said.
Waringo said the country needs a set up like the one in the United States, where university teams play in the National Collegiate Amateur Athletic (NCAA) league with top players drafted into the National Basketball League (NBA).
“Kenya has many talented basketballers scattered in all universities in the country and need to be given a chance to have their own championship,” he observed.
He went on, “From reliable statistics, the future of Kenyan basketball lies on financial stability of teams, sponsorship and talent identification.”
Informed potential sponsors, he said, have identified universities as the future of Kenyan basketball considering 90 per cent of players have a university background. He said that there are good players in the varsities with talents that can only be nurtured. He cited his own Bramwell Muchina and Brian Ondieki as examples of fast-rising stars
Despite playing in the KBF league, university teams also play in their own Kenya University Sports Association (KUSA) organised league. United States International University (USIU) ‘Flames’ and Strathmore University ‘Blades’ have represented the country in the Fiba Africa championships.
He said post-corona basketball demands open courts to allow social distancing for spectators, massive and frequent testing of players and officials.
Waringo guided KU ‘Pirates’ back to the premier league after taking the top slot in the Division One.
He also coaches women premier side KU Oryx. Other than KU, the other teams that play in the top tier are University of Nairobi, Strathmore University, USIU and Zetech University.
In the lower division, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUATS) and Mount Kenya University Thika (MKU).
