American-Ugandan professional basketball player, Ishmail Carzell Wainright, who impressed many with his recent performance at the FIBA Afrobasket 2021 tourney in Kigali, says Uganda made history and nobody can take that away.
“Ayo Silverbacks. We made history and NOBODY can take that away from us,” he tweeted on Sunday.
The Toronto Raptors forward had a remarkable run in Kigali, being among the outstanding Silverbacks in many games, among them Cameroon, Cape Verde and Nigeria.
He was passer, defender, rebounder, and screen-setter, for the national team.
Wainright posted a double-double of 12 rebound, 11 assists, nine points with efficiency rating of 25 to help guide Uganda over Cameroon.
He scored 36 points in a game for Uganda against Cape Verde.
In the game where Uganda beat Nigeria 80 – 68, Wainright set the tone with his eleven points, eleven rebounds and six assists.
The result saw Uganda advance to the AfroBasket Quarter-Finals, for the time in the country’s basketball history.
In another tweet on Sunday, Wainright who is the first Ugandan national team player to sign for a NBA team, posted what seems to be a hint that he’ll be visiting Kampala next summer.
Whereas the Silverbacks only managed to make it to Quarter finals, the 26-year-old has expressed pride for having been part of Team Uganda.
“I’m so proud of this group of UG men. Thank you everyone for the love and support. We will be back…. Forever grateful. Forever UG,” he wrote after the Silverbacks ended their campaign.
At the Kigali tourney, every country was allowed to have one naturalized player on their roster. For Uganda, it was Wainright.
