Kenyan basketball has, for a while, been characterized with prospects at High School level then advancement to tertiary institutions. The lucky ones transition the national league’s clubs.
Kristoff Thande envisions a whole new dimension for upcoming talents through Next Level Basketball. His is a dream of nurturing basketball talent from raw potent level to pro level. This idea came to life way back during his visits to Kenya. He credits his very first inspiration to having seen Coach Kent training kids at railways while suiting up for Blazers. The blank cheque shaped up years later when he saw the basketball courts at Arena One. He describes them (courts) as futuristic. His first hands-on assignment came from Coach Patrick of Hillcrest. He gave Kristoff a chance to train kids one on one. The numbers then went up gradually and currently stands at 15.
“Kenya has amazing basketball talent. Having a taskforce in place to channel the work ethic in the right direction will heavily impact the narrative of Kenyan basketball,” he asserted.
“A rich basketball culture is rooting and establishments such as Next Level are timely and important too,” he added.
Next Level Basketball currently has a single training base with scheduled training times. The most endearing challenge he had to overcome was uncertainty in the kind of reception this academy would get. The numbers are fast rising, which Kris says is promising and quite impressive for starters. Since it’s conception, three kids have bagged partial scholarships. Next Level Basketball aims at having a ladies squad on board in months to come.
Currently, Kristoff is looking into deepen his scope of connections with regards to Next Level Basketball.