San Antonio Spurs EXCLUSIVE: Meet NBA Academy’s Hidden Gem, Draft Prospect Ulrich Chomche

In an exclusive interview with InsideTheSpurs.com, NBA Academy Africa big man Ulrich Chomche revealed how he became one of NBA's top international prospects.

NBA Academy Africa prospect Ulrich Chomche / NBA Academy

Unlike last year, when Victor Wembanyama was considered an obvious No. 1 pick for the San Antonio Spurs, this year’s NBA Draft lacks a consensus top prospect. 

However, on April 13, Portland, Oregon, will host the annual Nike Hoops Summit, and 6-11 international big man Ulrich Chomche will have an opportunity to show the American media why his name is in the lottery discussion for this year's draft. 

The Cameroonian big man, who’s considered the nation's best prospect since reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, opened up about his path to the sport he loves.

“It was hard. I consider it a very long journey,” Chomche exclusively told Inside The Spurs. “(At age 13) I didn’t even know what basketball was. I was walking the street, one of my coaches saw me, and he told me, ‘You should play basketball.’” 

However, it wasn't as simple as him saying yes. 

Before the wiry teenager could step foot on a basketball court, he needed his family's blessing; instead, they dismissed the idea. His parents considered basketball a distraction to his education, but his coach remained intent on swaying their opinions.

“He came to our house and said that if I had bad grades in class, he would fix that and make sure I did well in school, too,” Chomche said. “We convinced my family that they should let me play basketball. I like to be a student of the game, I like to study the game, and basketball didn’t destroy me in school.” 

Now, roughly five years later, Chomche has not only fulfilled his promise to his parents by maintaining his grades but he’s set an example for his 18 siblings in Cameroon by pursuing his dreams and becoming one of the top basketball prospects in the world.

“Basketball makes you feel good,” the center said. “It’s like therapy. It makes you feel in your zone. That’s what made me fall in love with it.”

Ulrich Chomche (14) / NBA Academy

What Does Chomche Bring to the Court? 

Chomche is a dominant defender with a skillset similar to Orlando Magic big-man Jonathan Isaac. Nicknamed the Minister of Defense, Isaac is one of the NBA’s highest-graded defenders this season and embodies some of Chomche's upside.

“I love playing defense,” Chomche said. “I work on my defense and communicate more to be like a general on the court. I'm just trying to swarm the floor.”

Back in Isaac’s college days at Florida State, he averaged 12 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks before becoming the No. 6 overall pick in 2017. As for Cameroon’s General of Defense, Chomche, he’s produced similar numbers while playing in some of the world’s premier basketball showcases.

In 2023’s Sunshine Prep Showcase at IMG Academy in Florida, Chomche played in front of college coaches against the highest-level prep and postgraduate teams in the United States. Over four games, he averaged 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks.

Chomche displayed similar consistency when NBA Academy Africa participated in the Road to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in South Africa. He averaged 11.3 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and 2.5 blocks over another four-game stretch, this time competing against some of the top professional club teams vying to qualify for the BAL.

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While many NBA fans and scouts are often fixated on the top talents in America, it's worth noting just how much talent has come from overseas in recent years. NBA superstars like Luka Dončić and Wembanyama, the current Rookie of the Year favorite, are former international prospects, and the continent of Africa has been dominating the sport over the last year. 

Not only does Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP, hail from Africa, but last year’s NCAA Tournament Final Four MVP, UConn’s Adama Sanogo, is also from the continent. With some of the top college prospects like Sanogo as well as All-Stars like Embiid and Pascal Siakam proudly representing Africa, it’s time that fans begin to pay more attention to what’s going on at NBA Academy Africa. 

The NBA Academy is essentially a collection of international boarding schools that offer a unique opportunity for some of the top players around the globe to grow up, developing their skills on the court and in hopes of refining their talent enough to earn offers at both the collegiate and professional level.

“It's almost like a UN basketball group together,” NBA Academy executive Chris Ebersole said of the NBA Academy teams, which are based in Australia, India, Mexico, and Senegal and comprised of players from over a dozen countries. Many of these kids come in with no English. We’re trying to get those kids ready to potentially go to college in the US.”

Two players who have benefitted from the NBA Academy’s expansion to Senegal, Africa, back in November 2018 are Chomche and 2024 five-star Duke basketball commit Khaman Maluach, a proud representative of South Sudan. Both prospects will compete at the Summit this weekend and joined the Academy while young.

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“When Khaman came to the Academy, he was a baby; now, he grew like the grass man,” Chomche said. “We prepare each other for the future. He helps me every time when I’m down and is a brother for me. We spend a lot of time together, and I push him too when he needs it.”

Ebersole noted that he's happy to see how the brotherly bond of Chomche and Maluach has benefitted both young men on and off the court while at the Academy.

“They're great ambassadors for the whole program because of how they carry themselves with humility and respect, which makes us just as proud as their on-court accomplishments,” Ebersole said. “It validates all the work that goes in.”

Maluach and Chomche look up to some of the top international players in the NBA today. 

“I want to be aggressive like Giannis,” Maluach said. “Giannis doesn't give up a play, whether it's on defense, no matter what it takes, and Wembanyama inspires me because I feel like I can be an international player and a number-one pick, too.”

Duke commit Khaman Maluach / NBA Academy

Maluach & Me: Pioneering A Path

The NBA Academy program has produced over 115 Division One basketball players and 20 professionals, according to Ebersole, who emphasized that academics are crucial to the program, so that playing in college is an option. This year’s March Madness tournament featured 21 Academy alums participating. 

NBA Academy had a combined three players drafted in the top eight picks between the 2021 and 2022 NBA draft classes: Josh Giddey to the Oklahoma City Thunder No. 6 overall in 2021, then in 2022, Benedict Mathurin No. 6 to the Indiana Pacers and Dyson Daniels No. 8 to the New Orleans Pelicans, all of whom made the NBA’s Rising Stars once entering the league.

The next great prospects out of the Academy program are expected to be Chomche and Maluach.

“They've grown from being the young members of the team to now being leaders on their team, and they take that responsibility seriously,” Ebersole said.

“I’m the veteran,” Chomche stated. “I’ve been there for quite a while, more than anybody. I'm just trying to help my team have fun and not get distracted. That’s my job off the court: to keep them together and stay like family.”

Family is important to Chomche, who said he views his teammates as brothers and credits them for helping him adapt to life at the Academy in Senegal after moving away from his family to focus on developing as a basketball player. 

“I love them; they’re a part of my family. Sometimes, we go to the beach, chill, and just compete for fun. Now I have more than 20 siblings,” Chomche joked.

Being able to have fun and feel a sense of community is essential for the young men, considering that they only get to visit their families back home a couple of times a year around the holidays and after big summer showcases. Chomche said that when he’s homesick, he listens to Cameroonian music to remember his family and help him get through it. Players missing home is a difficulty that the Academy acknowledges and considers when helping raise the children.

“Buy-in from the families is underrated, but a massive part of it,” Ebersole said.  “The fact that they're all bought in and committed to it and the trust in the program to say, ‘Hey, you know, I'm sending my 14-year-old, my baby, to a program across the continent or across the world’ in some cases. It’s a massive commitment, and we don't take it for granted. We take that responsibility very seriously.”

Chomche expressed his gratitude toward the Academy for helping him mature both on the court and off it.

“They don’t only teach us how to play basketball; they teach us how to be men,” Chomche said. “I had a lot of challenges; it was hard. In Cameroon, I practiced like three times a week; at the Academy, I practice three times a day. I had to adapt, but I had good people around me to help me stay focused and not be distracted.”

Maluach acknowledged the impact those opportunities offer kids from Africa, such as Chomche and him.

“I know basketball is gonna change a lot of people’s lives,” Maluach said. 

On the list of lives that could be impacted by basketball is Chomche, the hidden gem expected to become the first prospect drafted into the league from NBA Academy Africa.

As a leader, Chomche is proud to be a trailblazer for the Academy in Senegal.

“This is me now,” Chomche said. “I love it. I’m grateful for what they did; we have these opportunities because of them. Someday, I want to play in the NBA.”