NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 – After a sabbatical of almost three years, Kenya Morans star small forward Tyler Okari says he is back available for selection for the national team, ahead of next year’s FIBA Afrobasket qualifiers.
Okari announced his decision to step away from the national team in 2022, just shortly after the FIBA Afrobasket tournament.
However, Okari who has recently come back home and signed with champions Nairobi City Thunder, has told Capital Sports that he is available to play for the Morans.
“Yes, I am now available for the Morans,” Okari said. He added; “Now that I have come back home, it means I will have more time here to practice with the team and the best thing to do for me, is to get back with them.”
“The target now is to take the team to the Afrobasket and not just get there, but go further than we have done before,” further says Okari, who is back home after a stint in Germany.
Okari says the team should be able to start preparations for the February qualifiers early on, and with the quality of the team, they should be able to qualify. “The secret to performing well is practicing together. For example now at Thunder, we have eight players in the national team. If we can get together weekly and just practice and get to blend together, we can go so far.”
The small forward is back playing at home for the first time since 2012, when he featured for Strathmore University. He returns with a plethora of experience, having played abroad in Italy, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Russia, Ivory Coast and Germany.
“It feels great to be back home after all those years. When the opportunity came up, I embraced it. Part of me coming back home was just to experience the fans, the family around here and also be able to mentor the young ones coming up,” Okari told Capital Sports.
Okari will be part of a Thunder star studded team playing at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and he has also confirmed he will suit up for Thunder in the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Premier League.
He hopes his experience, and that of other players brought on board, will help Thunder become the first Kenyan team to ever qualify for the final BAL campaign.
“I believe we have a good team though we still have a lot of work to do. The target is to help the team qualify for the final round and I believe we can do it. We have already started preparations and we are on the right path, building our fitness and resilience. I am pretty happy with how things have gone so far,” further stated the forward.
Thunder clinched the league unbeaten last season and have retained pretty much of the backbone that lifted them to the crown. With the addition of Okari, as well as fellow national team players Derrick Ogechi and Eugene Adera, the Brad Ibs coached side will be a force in the coming season.
