Invest In Basketball…US Based Star Tells Govt

Amida Peregrino-Braimah. INSET: Poses with his father in Accra

Amida Peregrino-Braimah. INSET: Poses with his father in Accra

One of Ghana's tallest young men, Amida Peregrino-Brimah, a rising basketball star at the Connecticut university in the US, has landed in Accra for the id-ul-fitr holidays.

Encouraged by the level of basketball in the US, he asked government to provide more funding to raise its profile in the country. Basketball in Ghana, with a relatively limited budget, is considered a lesser sport.

The young rising star, who is on his third visit to the country since relocating to his newly adopted country a few years ago, stands at seven feet.

He arrived in the US with little experience in the game of basketball save the lessons learnt from his uncle Lawal Peregrino-Brimah, the national basketball coach who doubles as coach of the CEPS team.

In Ghana, he said 'I was playing soccer more than I did basketball.'

'Ghana must invest more in basketball. We need good gyms as in the US. I was playing on uneven courts and this affected me negatively until I got to the US. The best age to start basketball is around age 10,' he told DAILY GUIDE SPORTS in an exclusive interview last Sunday at his father 's residence at Nyamekye in New Fadama, Accra.

'In the US, workout is tough. I do a lot of training. Doing two hours a day and studying at night is a tough schedule for me but I have to carry on for positive results,' he said, adding, 'If you want to get better you have to work hard.'

He is studying economics at the University of Connecticut, US. On his first day on the court in the US, he said, 'it was crazy and hard stuff. It was my first workout with the team and it turned out well anyway. In high school I played with different schools.'

He recalled with relish the roles his uncle, Lawal aka Lancaster and cousin Hashim played in whipping up his interest in basketball before he moved to the US eventually.

Speaking about heights in basketball, he said tall persons perform better in the centre and that is exactly his position. 'Short persons do better in the shot guard position,' he said.

Amida, named after his grandfather, said 'it is tough combining university education with working out on the training court.'

At just 21, Amida has many years ahead of him as the NBA beckons him.

One Ghanaian resident in the US told DAILY GUIDE SPORTS, 'When we see him in action we are delighted because he is flying the Ghanaian flag.'