Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

One to watch 19 year old Jahlil Okafor is a 6'11", 270-pound basketball player for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team. He entered Duke with widespread recognition as the preseason Collegiate National Player of the Year. He played high school basketball in Chicago, Illinois for Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, where he earned high school national player of the year awards from McDonalds, USA Today and Parade. He was heavily recruited since before high school and had been at the top of the recruiting rankings for several years. He is a distant cousin of Emeka Okafor. At the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, he earned the Tournament MVP for the gold-medal winning USA team. In 2013, Okafor led Whitney Young to the 2013 Chicago Public High School League (CPL) city championship. He was an All-American as a junior in 2013. The following summer, he was an All-Tournament team selection at the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for the gold-medal Team USA. At...

Acho attended St. Mark's School in Dallas, Texas. He had 12 sacks as a senior and 10 as a junior and was a team co-captain both years. As a freshman in 2007, Acho played in 11 games, recording six tackles and a sack. As a sophomore in 2008, he recorded 15 tackles and three sacks. As a junior in 2009, Acho became a starter, starting all 14 games. He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 by The Associated Press after recording 55 tackles and eight sacks. Acho was the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy (2010). This prestigious award is given to college football's top scholar-athlete. After the 2010 season, his teammates named him the MVP of the team. Acho was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 103rd pick overall of the 2011 NFL Draft. In his rookie season as a Cardinal he made 40 tackles, 7 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. Source: Wiki

Born in Port-Harcourt Nigeria, Obinna Okezie is Founder and CEO of ZeepTravel, the parent company of online ticket reservation service, Wakanow.com. Ekezie, a former college and professional basketball player who played professionally as an NBA player for teams such as the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, LA Clippers, and Vancouver Grizzlies is determined to change the way ticket bookings are made in first Nigeria and eventually, Africa. TNW Africa recently spoke to the NBA player turned Nigerian internet entrepreneur. Founded in 2008, Wakanow.com hopes to significantly change the way travel reservations are made in Nigeria and eventually, Africa. Using online travel reservation business models used by companies like Expedia, the company hopes to encourage a culture of online purchases for travel services in Nigeria. Waka, a Nigerian pidgin English word for walk, leave or go helps define the company’s mission via the website’s name Wak...

Chukwudiebere Maduabum (born March 19, 1991) is a basketball player from Nigeria for the Denver Nuggets. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft with the 56th pick, but was traded to Denver Nuggets. Chukwudiebere, a 6-foot-9 power forward better known as Chu Chu is the third player drafted straight from the D-League, following in the footsteps of fellow second round picks Mike Taylor and Latavious Williams. He is one to watch.

Ikechukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983 in Buffalo, New York), is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Diogu who stands at 6 feet (1.8 m), 9 inches (2.06 m) tall attended Arizona State University, where he excelled on the team under head coach Rob Evans. He garnered several honors, both in the Pac-10 and nationally. Diogu was selected 9th overall in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. On December 23, 2005, he recorded a professional career-best 27 points on 13-15 shooting, surpassing his previous best by 12 points. On January 17, 2007, Diogu, whom Larry Bird called the "gem" of the deal, was dealt to the Indiana Pacers along with teammates Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Troy Murphy, and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Josh Powell.[4] On June 26, 2008 (draft night), Diogu was traded by Indiana to the Portland Trail Blazers along with the draft rights to Jerryd Bayless in ...

Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor, abbreviated as Emeka Okafor, is a professional basketball player playing at power forward and center for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association. Prior to the NBA, The 6'10" (2.08 m) Okafor attended Houston's Bellaire High School, and the University of Connecticut. On July 29, 2008, he agreed to a 6 year $72 million dollar extension. Okafor will enter the 2008-09 season with active franchise-record streaks of 93 consecutive games played and 92 consecutive games started.