NBA teams interested in Nigeria’s Oguchi

After leaving college basketball in 2009, Nigerian national team player Chamberlain Oguchi has been the ultimate basketball journeyman, bouncing from professional leagues in Lebanon, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Philippines. It seemed he would come and go out of these Olympic Games without much notice.

That was before Oguchi scored 35 points in Nigeria’s final preliminary round game, a 79-73 loss to France. Suddenly, several NBA teams are inviting him to training camp on non-guaranteed deals, league sources have said. Several teams had front-office executives in London for the performance, where Oguchi made eight of his fourteen 3-point attempts. Most see value in the versatile 6-foot-6 swingman, who could be had on a rookie-scale contract.

Oguchi, 26, played high school basketball in Houston before enrolling at Oregon and Illinois State. He played 31 games for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Developmental League in 2010-11, averaging 10 points per game.