Nigeria Content Online

Nigerian
born basketball player, Solomon Alabi, is on his way back to the Erie
BayHawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Development
League as the Toronto Raptors seek a way to get the best out of the
centre.

Alabi, after two
years at Florida State University, was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks
with the 50th overall pick in June 2010 who thereafter traded his
rights to the Raptors for a 2013 conditional second-round pick and cash
considerations. It will be the second time this season that the
22-year-old will be teaming up with the BayHawks following an initial
spell towards the end of 2010 that saw him feature in seven games
before rejoining the Raptors on December 8.

Since his return,
the 7-foot 1-inch centre has gone on to appear in four games for the
Raptors, which is a considerable improvement from the solitary
appearance he made prior to his first spell with the BayHawks. However,
Alabi has only played a total of 14 minutes for the Raptors this season
and remains on the lookout for his first NBA points having attempted
just one shot from the floor all season long.

Speaking to
reporters before the Raptors took on the Cleveland Cavaliers on
Wednesday night (Thursday in Nigeria) Alabi said he expects to join the
BayHawks ahead of Friday night’s Development League game against Sioux
Falls at Tullio Arena.

Happy to rejoin the BayHawks “I’m excited,” he said.

“I’m looking
forward to it. I’m just going to go out there, stay positive and if the
coach puts me out there, I’m going to go out there and play.”
Hopefully, Alabi, who averaged 8.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and three
blocks during his first stint with the BayHawks, will yet again get
enough playing time with the BayHawks before returning to the Raptors.
“We’ve got to get him as many minutes as we can,” said Raptors’ coach
Jay Triano, on Thursday. “He’s not getting in. He’s not in the rotation
right now. He’s had a great attitude and he’s been with us, but we need
to get him some minutes.” The Development League, also known as the
D-League, was established in 2001 and is the official minor league of
the NBA and serves as a training ground for players who have played for
two years or less in the world’s toughest basketball league. Alabi
isn’t however the first NBA player with Nigerian roots to feature in
the D-League as a host of others had previously taken that route to
stardom, most notably Kelenna Azubuike, who now turns out for the New
York Knicks, and Ime Udoka, of the San Antonio Spurs.