Meet the Fresh Faces: A Deep Dive into Rivers Hoopers’ BAL Recruits

The reigning Nigerian champions, Rivers Hoopers, have strengthened their squad with five new signings ahead of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL)set to commence on Saturday, May 4 to Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Dakar, Senegal.

Rivers Hoopers will look to prove a tough opponent in an equally tough Sahara Conference, which features former champions US Monastir, 2023 runners-up AS Douanes, and Rwandan champions APR.

The signings include:

William Perry: 2023 BAL Sportsmanship Award winner.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 11, 1994, William Perry played four seasons for the Lenoir–Rhyne Bears(the basketball team for Lenoir–Rhyne University, in Hickory, North Carolina) in the NCAA Division II. He was an All-SAC Second Team selection in 2016 and an Honorable Mention in 2015. In the 2015/16 season, Perry set a school record for most three-pointers made in a season with 101, helping the Bears to a 21–10 record and their first-ever birth in the Southeast Regional Championship.

The American joined Mozambican team, Ferroviário da Beira in 2021 and led them to qualify for the 2022 BAL season, where he averaged 14 points, four rebounds and five assists per game.

While playing for Beira in the 2023 season, the point guard averaged 17 points, 6.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds. He tied the BAL record for most points scored in a game and also set a record for most 3-pointers made in a single game. He set the record when he scored 41 points and eight assists including nine three-pointers in Beira’s 109-97 win over SLAC at the 2023 BAL Nile Conference.

Standing  6 feet tall, the American is set to bring Willpower to the Hoopers.

Kelvin Amayo: “An unstoppable force” as described by Basketball Africa League.

Kelvin Amayo was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on January 9, 1992, to Nigerian parents; Faith and Charles Amayo. He played college basketball for Loyola Marymount University and attended Nia Preparatory School for high school. Aside from previously playing for Loyola Marymount Lions in the NCAA, he played in Georgia and Iran.

The Experienced guard, joined Rivers Hoopers from the Malian side, Stade Malien.

The 32-year-old led Stade Malien to a first-place finish in the Sahara Conference, having defeated REG, Kwara Falcons and ABC Fighters. He also led the Malian outfit to a third-place finish in their maiden season of the Basketball Africa League last year, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals in the eight games he played for Stade Malien.

The guard earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice at Iona and did a Master of Education program at LMU where he posted a 3.85 in his first semester in the program.

At, Iona University, Amayo was described as a great athlete with tremendous leaping ability and was known to be a solid shooter who is a slasher/scorer and can play multiple positions.

Standing six feet and four inches tall, In a career that has spanned over a decade, Kelvin Amayo is poised to bring his wealth of experience to Rivers Hoopers and hopefully go the full length in the Basketball Africa League.

John Wilkins: “Basketball in the Blood”

Former Teammate to the aforementioned Kelvin Amayo in Stade Malien, John Wilkins is a French-American-Moroccan professional basketball player. He was born on July 13, 1989, in Gary, Indiana, to Afafe Soussi and former NBA player Jeff Wilkins.

He has garnered experience having played in France, Belgium, Morocco and Germany and for multiple teams, including Liège Basket in the Belgian Pro Basketball League and Stade Malien in the Basketball Africa League.

The six feet ten inches, Center/Forward played for Morocco’s national team at the 2017 AfroBasket in Tunisia and Senegal.

The experienced centre dropped an impressive 18 points in Stade Malien’s win over Cape Town Tigers and was awarded Visit Rwanda Player of the Game in the quarterfinals of the 2023 BAL.

Devine Eke: From Track to Proper Basketballer

Devine Eke, a Nigerian-American basketball player, was born on July 29, 1996, in Plainfield, New Jersey, to a Nigerian father, Charles Eke and an American mother, Lilian Eke. He competed in track in high school but kept his focus on being a professional basketball player. 

The 27-year-old has played for the Nigerian national team, the D’Tigers, making his debut at the Afrobasket qualifiers held in Tunisia averaging 22 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5 assists in 3 games. He has also played for teams in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Bosnia.

The six-foot-eight forward attended Union Catholic High School where he averaged 17 points per game, six rebounds and two blocks, leading his team to the conference title. After Union Catholic, he competed for The Robinson School and averaged 21 points per game, 10 rebounds and seven blocks and was named Jordon Brand Classic Regional Player and also received MPV and defensive player of the year honors.

Eke has played in NCAA Division I for Radford Highlanders, Zunder Palencia in Spain, Acadêmica Efapel in Portugal, Netherlands Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord, and OKK Sloboda Tuzla in Bosnia. 

Olisemeka Peter: The Nigerian-Italian Force

The six-foot-nine centre was born in Lagos on December 9, 1991. Peter Olisemeka’s most recent stint was with RM Valcea in the Romanian Liga I, where he impressed with averages of 11.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game across 29 games last season. Previously, he suited up for Donar Groningen in the Dutch league, contributing 5.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game in 11 appearances, helping the team advance to the Dutch Eredivisie final. Olisemeka also had a brief spell with Steaua in the Romanian Liga Nationala, further expanding his European experience.

The 32-year-old Nigerian-Italian basketball player has an impressive array of individual accolades to his name. Notably, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Northern Cypriot League in 2013 and in multiple rounds of the Bulgarian NBL league (2018-2019). He also earned recognition as the League Defensive Player of the Year in Northern Cyprus (2013, 2015) and Bulgaria (2019). Additionally, he was named the Best Center in the Northern Cypriot League on three occasions (2012, 2013, 2015).

The six-foot-nine Center known for his athleticism, rebounding ability, and defensive skills, would be a valuable asset to the Rivers Hoopers.

These five recruits bring a wealth of experience and talent to Rivers Hoopers. With their already existing squad, the KingsMen are poised to be a formidable force in the fourth edition of the Basketball Africa League.