Coach Rena Wakama has been hired by the Nigeria Basketball Federation to lead the Team Nigeria Women’s basketball team for the next two seasons.
This was disclosed through a tweet from the federation on Friday.
Since Otis Hughley’s departure from his position as head coach of the five-time defending Afrobasket champion D’Tigress in 2022, the team has been without a leader.
Wakama, a native of Rivers, played for the national team and is now an assistant coach at the United States’ Stony Brook University.
Wakama played basketball professionally in the UK in addition to earning four letters at the University of Western Carolina.
She graduated from Western Carolina in 2014 with a bachelor’s in therapeutic recreation, and Manhattan in 2019 with an MBA.
After two years as the Director of Women’s Basketball Operations at Manhattan College, Wakama is now in her fourth season as an assistant coach there.
As an assistant coach, Wakama is responsible for the development of the team’s wing/guard players, in addition to operating as the academic and community service liaison.
Under her guidance, the Jaspers achieved a program-best 3.61 GPA and ranked fifth in Division I women’s basketball in community service hours.
Wakama assisted Davis and Brazil Harvey-Carr in achieving postseason All-MAAC accolades during the 2021/22 campaign.
