Back in the late 90’s, a number of extra-ordinary athletes emerged onto the Kenyan High School basketball scene, showcasing skills and a level of the game that was hitherto unknown at the high school level. Their exploits brought a wide variety of fans from students to Premier League players to watch their games which were always must-see events at the time. Sure enough, they didn’t disappoint – there were always those moments in the game when the fans got their money’s worth and those I-don’t-believe-I –just-saw-him-do-that memories.

Christian Awori going backdoor for the lob. JP Okello dunking on an entire team including the coach and water-boys. Steve Othoro – a man amongst boys in the middle. Kingsley Makokha on the breakaway.

I caught up with my main man Kingsley Makokha of Strathmore School and later St. Austin’s Academy. Very candid and soft spoken now, he was an absolute terror to defenders and teams during his glorious high school run. Here’s what he had to say.

1. What led you to the game of basketball as a child? Who were your early influences in basketball?
Primary school certainly. Consolata Primary School was probably the only school where soccer was discouraged during break and lunch time because of the concrete slabs which made up most of the school play area and this destroyed our Bata Prefect shoes! The ‘ban’ on soccer turned us to basketball. There was a basketball court in the school, inadvertently set up with the lower 8ft rims (perfect for our size at the time) and once we started playing that was where it all began. I think I was in Std 6.
My early influences? Michael Jordan. I watched ‘Come Fly With Me’ and subsequently my life’s mission became replicating those moves.

2. Was there a particular player you patterned your game after either locally or on the NBA?
At the time I operated on good guy- bad guy mode. Michael Jordan was the good guy and the rest (especially the Pistons) were the bad guys so naturally I tried to be like Mike.

3. There is usually a point in many great players’ early careers when they realize just how good they can be at the game. When did that happen for you?
When I joined high school, I was barely 6 feet tall but I could dunk the ball in my full school uniform (yes blazer and all!) while carrying my book bag. I think the advantage of playing ball in primary school gave me the edge coming into high school. I could tell that I was clearly ahead of other players of the same age.

4. Now you’re already in high school at Strathmore and playing ball from your first year. Tell us how your game progressed.
My high school basketball happened in two phases: At Strathmore with the 8-4-4 system, sports were more controlled as the academic side of school was paramount. I moved on to do my A Levels at St. Austin’s where we had a really strong and internally competitive team plus a lot more games and exposure which gave me the opportunities I needed to develop my game.

5. Which coaches made a significant impact in your game at the time?
During my time at Strathmore my peers probably played a more significant role than my coaches. The pick- up games in Ngumo where I grew up were intense. There was the single hoop so winner stays was the only way and they were all kinds of players out there. During this time I had to have put up at least ten thousand hours of practice for sure! School holidays were spent on the court working on various aspects of the game for no less than 8 hours daily, no phones, no DSTV, no video games – just the good old game of basketball.
At St. Austin’s, I was coached by Coach Jesudason whose physical regimen really kept us really fit; we could play an entire game on full court press, after running 4km before the game. He didn’t take shortcuts despite some of the best talent in the country. We all had to earn our minutes. We also had a good mix of unselfish players and that helped bring the titles.

6. How successful were you in high school. What were some of your achievements?
At Strathmore, I was the team captain and probably led all statistics (but do I say!) I was selected to the high school All Star team a couple of times and yes, of course, I wasn’t too bad at the dunk contests.
At St Austin’s I was captain there too. We went two full seasons unbeaten ( I still refuse to recognize a game where for some reason the refs decided to foul out our entire starting five in just under a half of basketball.). We won the National and Regional championships back to back. Those are the main ones I remember.

7. Did you believe at that point that you could play at the next level?
Certainly. I was pretty excited to go 6’1” and have a 6’7” wingspan. I genuinely thought I was going to be a tad bit taller than the 6’2” I am now. I thought I had a pretty good shot then and I was hungry to learn the game if not obsessed. I was blessed with the athleticism to do many things that the average player could not.

8. Talk about some of the people you played against in high school that really challenged you as a player.
There are loads of great players I competed against but lots of people liked to see me going against Christian Awori simply because we could both jump out of the building and therefore created some kind of rivalry between us. But we always were and remain good friends to this day. JP Okello, in my view, was the most complete Kenyan high school basketball player I have seen. He had the physical gifts and skill set to play and guard any position 1 through to 5 comfortably. We rarely played against each other during my time in Strathmore and him at Alliance. After Strathmore, we teamed up for the Sprite Ball Tour and then played two years together at St Austin’s . This definitely improved my game a lot because I had to guard him a lot during practice and that was never easy thing to do. I really came to understand just how talented he was as a player.

9. What are some of the moments that stand out when you look back at your high school career?
There was an out of body experience once where I hit 13 three-point shots in a game and finished up with 58 points. When it rains, it pours.

10. Was there a single game that was the most defining game of your career?
Difficult to say, though I remember one Finals game against Aquinas where we were down about 15 going into the 4th quarter. Our frontcourt was in foul trouble so we had to play smart defense against a team trying to run the clock down and urgent but efficient offence to cut the deficit. Somehow we managed to dig it out and get win. I don’t remember my individual stats for the game but the team effort and discipline with which we played the end of the game is something that still stands out for me.

11. How did you approach the game from your practice habits to game time?
I tried to be very meticulous. I played up to 10 hours a day during the school holidays. I had a little chart sheet I used to graph my progress: free-throws, left handed lay ups, mid range jumpers, my suicide times, my vertical, etc I worked on my fundamentals all morning and then got into battles with the rest of the Ngumo hoop heads the rest of the day.
Game time was pretty routine for me. I don’t give much away in terms of emotion and was quietly nervous until tip off and it took me a minute or two to settle down and get into the game regardless what the stakes were.

12. What did you think your strengths were and what areas did you struggle with?
I think I was pretty quick mentally and physically and with the deceptive arm span my defense was very solid. My mid range game was good too.
In hindsight, I think my biggest deterrent was I didn't go to the basket often enough. I had the ability but I shied away from the contact that it cost me and my team some.

13. Which player(s) either locally or NBA would you say your game was most like?
Unfortunately during high school, my game was pretty much defined by the aerial histrionics. I think I was underrated as a defender and I’d pride myself on reading the opponent and anticipating his next move and getting the steal or shot block. So you could say I was trying to be a cross between The Glove and Mike.

14. In your last year of high school, with the host of high school talent available at the time, if you had to pick 4 other players to play with on a monster all-star team, who would you select?
I had the great privilege of playing with and against so many good players. Under ‘T-9” Aquinas seemed to roll out a new star every year from Dan Owiti, Cabral Gisanda, Ken Oliver, Collins Gaya, Martin Ombok, the list is endless. Saints had ‘Nabbz’Nabutete, Christian Awori, Jeff Nyamweya, Okila, etc. Alliance had JP Okello, John “Lopo” Lopokoyiit and Big Steve Othoro. I’d take JP at 1, Hugo Sterk (ISK) at 2, myself at 3, Rwehabura “Rweha” Muyagi at 4 and Big Steve in the middle. We could give anyone a run for their money.

15. You dropped off the map shortly after your celebrated high school run. What happened?
I was pretty clear that after high school basketball would take on a peripheral role in my life; this softened the blow of going to the UK, home of cricket and football, for university.

16. How would you summarize the effect basketball had on your life? Did it change your life at all?
The effect was immense. High school basketball got me a lot of recognition and acclaim. Playing for Team Sprite during the Sprite-ball promotion allowed me to travel across the country to places I’d probably never think of visiting. St. Austin’s basketball gave me two national and regional titles and allowed me to travel to the US where we met and trained with NBA players. Most importantly quite a number of my oldest friendships were struck on the basketball court and these relationships and friendships are essential now as we go about the business of life.

17. Talk a little about your family and what you've been up to lately.
I just completed the definition of the nuclear family with the addition my son Karmine who was born August 2nd so I’m at the onset of the toughest but most rewarding challenge of all: parenthood.

18. I know that you still remain involved with basketball. Talk about some of the things you participate in to stay involved in the game.
I must confess I’m not as involved as I should be. I see the glaring errant ways of our current set-up but stand on the sidelines and lament instead of doing something about it.

19. What do you think Kenya could do to improve its youth basketball programs?
A grassroots program is the first thing that comes to mind. We need to have systems where kids can begin playing basketball from an early age. I stand corrected but I believe most begin playing structured basketball at the high school level and this is rather late as far as developing fundamentals.

20. Apart from basketball what are some of the things you are interested in?
I am most interested in getting to a position where I have limitless options. I try to read a book every other week and I enjoy all sports especially football (blood Gunner), tennis and rugby which I follow religiously.

21. Do you have any parting words of advice or encouragement for young up and coming players in Kenya looking to help improve their game?
They are no short cuts; you have to put in the work to get the results. I believe in fundamentals, you have to walk onto the court a genuine triple threat on offence regardless of what position you play. Similarly, while it’s easier for most to work on their offence, a healthy appetite must be cultivated to play dogged defense. Clichéd it may be but defense wins games and championships.

Info: Kingsley Makokha/Nicholas Sego-ALSA International-USA
Photos: Kingsley/Edited by alsaINTERACTIVEMEDIA