American rapper J Cole set to play in Basketball Africa League
The 36-year-old Grammy Award winner is expected to play three to six games this sea
J Cole is a huge basketball fan and has referenced Lebron James and Michael Jordan in his music, but he has no professional basketball experience. The team will play Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers on Sunday, opening the first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Rumours of the signing began when the musician, whose full name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole, was seen in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, at the weekend. The team's coach, Alan Major, then confirmed the news to state broadcaster Rwanda TV on Monday. In 2012 he appeared in the NBA's Celebrity All-Star game held during the league's annual All-Star Weekend. At the 2019 All-Stars game, he performed during the half-time show.’ I believe in him.'
J Cole has previously expressed interest in professional basketball, according to some reports. Fellow rapper and basketball player Master P August, Cole was hoping to make it into the NBA."I believe in him, and I believe that he's a youngster that has a lot of desire," Master P said at the time. The NBA-backed BAL tips off this weekend, and the signing of J Cole, although unorthodox, has shone the spotlight on this fledgeling basketball league.
If he does make his debut on Sunday, J Cole could come up against former NBA player Ben Uzoh who signed for Rivers Hoppers last month. He was part of Nigeria's 2015 Afrobasket winning squad in Tunisia and a member of the D'Tigers team, which competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup in China. Twelve countries from across the continent will have teams in the BAL: Tunisia, Egypt, Angola, Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Mali, Mozambique, Madagascar and Rwanda.
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