Olympic Hoops

Dominic Okon, director of men's basketball operations at Wichita State, served as an assistant coach for the Nigerian national basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

When Dominic Okon came to the United States from Africa as a teen, he had already been playing basketball for nine years. He embraced the sport with passion and dedication, and that devotion paid off.

This year Okon, who is in his sixth year as director of men’s basketball operations at Wichita State, worked as an assistant coach for the Nigerian national basketball team, D’Tigers, helping them qualify for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games and achieve their first Olympic victory.

“I am so proud of Dominic for being a part of his national basketball history in his home country of Nigeria,” says head men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall. “What a great experience for him personally as well as professionally.”

“I felt honored and really blessed to be part of it,” Okon says. “I traveled so much with the Nigerian team and could not have done it without Coach Marshall’s support. He was so gracious.”

Born in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, Okon came to America in 1993 at age 17 to pursue his hoop dreams. He attended Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluffs, Mo., for two years, then transferred to Loyola University of Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. All the while, he played for his schools’ basketball teams and dreamed of being a coach.

After graduating from Loyola in 1998, Okon went back to Three Rivers to gain experience as a coach. Responsible for on-court coaching, recruiting, scouting and player development, he helped the Raiders achieve a 197-62 record over eight seasons and claim two regional titles and a trip to the national tournament. During summers, when time allowed, he was point guard for the Nigerian national team, playing in many tournaments including the 1997 Nation’s Cup in Africa, which qualified the team to play in the 1998 World Cup in Athens.

After next spending a year as assistant men’s basketball coach at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., he joined the men’s basketball staff at WSU. “I had a friend who played for Coach Marshall, and he was very impressed by the program,” Okon says. “I am so happy to be here. It is a very good situation. We have great fan base support. That’s a big selling point for Wichita State. There’s nothing like it.”

As director of men’s basketball operations, Okon has a wide variety of duties, including making team travel arrangements, working with Coach Marshall and the athletic director’s office to schedule games, and coordinating the day-to-day operations of the team. “I love it,” Okon says. “It’s really rewarding because of the people I work for and with.”

The good feelings are mutual. “Dominic is a very good person,” says Marshall. “He is a devoted family man, and a loyal, honest, and dependable coach.” Okon and his wife, Monica, have two boys: Jaden, 12, and Jordan, 7.

In March 2012, Okon was contacted by the Nigerian Basketball Federation. The Nigerian team was determined to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, and the federation wanted him to come on board as an assistant coach to Ayodele Bakare, head coach of the Nigerian national basketball team.

“I have been invested in the Nigerian team for a very long time,” Okon reports. “It represents my homeland, and I played for the head coach for many years.” He was thrilled to accept the offer, with Marshall’s blessing.

Thus began a whirlwind of training and qualifying games that took Okon and the team from China to Houston to Brazil and finally to Venezuela, where 12 teams from across the globe competed for three spots and a chance to compete in London.

And Nigeria did it. For the first time in its history, the Nigerian national basketball team qualified to play in the Olympic Games. “Qualifying for the Olympics was almost a bigger thrill than playing in the Olympics,” Okon says. “We worked very hard to get there.”

Nigeria played four games in London. They won the first, against Tunisia. It was not only the first time a Nigerian basketball team played in the Olympics, it was the first time any team from Africa netted an Olympic basketball win. “It was such a surreal experience,” Okon says. “Being around the best athletes in the world. And you feel you belong. It’s amazing. Everyone was cordial and wonderful. Cordial, even in defeat.”

Even though his time in London was consumed with hard work (“I was very busy doing film breakdowns,” he notes. “Watching games of our opposition and helping create strategies to fight theirs.”), there were lighter moments, too.

“Being at the Opening Ceremony was very moving,” he says. “To be there with all of the top athletes. It was thrilling. But for me the coolest part of the Olympics was the cafeteria. It’s open 24 hours a day, and they serve food from all parts of the world. Everyone meets there. It’s fun to see everyone – friends from other countries I don’t see very often – meet new friends and try all the foods. Of course, because of the level of competition, you mostly stick with foods you know because you know how your body will react to them.” For Okon, that included Nigerian comfort foods such as plantains and rice.

The Olympic Games also offered him the opportunity to learn and grow as a coach. “It is helpful to watch other teams practice and play,” he says. “The style is somewhat different from college basketball, but the basics are the same.”

An attention to detail has been a focus for him throughout his career and will no doubt serve him well as he continues to pursue his dreams.

“My goal is to have my own team as head coach,” he says. “Leading up to that, I will use the best of my ability to serve the Shockers.”