Suspense galore as Morans prepare to hit camp after Liz Mills storm

The Kenya national basketball team, Morans, is shrouded in austerity as they prepare to hit camp for their next assignment, the FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers following recent storming revelations that part of the squad instigated the ouster of former head coach Liz Mills.

According to Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Secretary-General Ambrose Kisoi, the squad of 20 named on 9 January is set to hit non-residential camp this weekend to begin preparations for the February 25 to 27 extravaganza to be hosted in Dakar, Senegal. 

A total of 16 nations are involved in the race for the five tickets available for Africa for the 32-nation World Cup to be hosted in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines next year. The February window will see group B and D open their campaign for said tickets. 

Morans were last in action during the Afrobasket in September where they were making a return to the continental showpiece after 28 years. 

After a turbulent start to the year that saw coach Liz Mills' exit and the return of Cliff Owuor, the question on basketball enthusiasts' minds is how to fix the problems that have bedevilled the team and give Kenya a realistic chance at becoming an African powerhouse in the sport. 

FIBA instructor and former national team coach Ronnie Owino, in an interview with Mozzart Sport, has singled out poor preparations and team selection as the biggest undoing to the team's performance on the continental level. 

"We have a month to the qualifiers and the team is yet to hit camp. That is setting the coach and players up for failure. We knew we had these qualifiers and even who we would be up against as early as September but nothing was done," offered the tactician adding that poor preparations have been the team's main undoing in previous assignments. 

Morans' camp is expected to throw off on the weekend for the local-based players with the foreign legion expected in February. However, this is the same weekend that the league's playoffs begin and coaches are expecting to have their full squads in action. 

Further, while calling on the federation to be hands-on in the management of the team, he has termed the practice of naming the national team for the coach a disrespect. 

While installing Owuor back at the helm, KBF also released a 20-man squad meant to do duty in the qualifier contrary to common practice elsewhere where tacticians are given a free hand to choose their soldiers for battle. 

This has been witnessed through Morans journey, including an incident in the first AfroBasket qualifiers window where coach Owuor named his final squad for the qualifiers, released his list to the media in a team-naming event but changes were still made to the travelling squad. 

"In 2019 I was part of a panel of coaches that selected the squad that did duty during the Zone Five AfroCAN qualifiers and I believe that should be the right path for our team. The panel then included coaches and a representative from the federation. 

As it is, the federation is making emotional decisions when it comes to team selection. Players are dropped for the flimsiest of reasons and some given precedence over others while the statistics say otherwise. With a free-hand to choose, the coach would get the players they feel serves their goals," added Owino. 

Diving into the conversation that has seen the basketball fraternity divided right through the middle following Mills' exit, Owino says having rules in the team will help in holding everyone accountable. 

"Coaching is a tricky task. Each team wants to win and as such, certain players will always be disgruntled for one reason or another. It is the responsibility of the coach to manage expectations of players, but this too can be a tricky balancing act.

There is no quick fix to the issues the team is facing. Progression and transition is never quiet but the coach has to have a way to make it effective without demoralising players," said the tactician. 

He continued, "I expect Owuor, before taking over the team to sit with the playing unit and the federation and deliberate on the expectations and the deliverables for each department. The role of each player should be clearly stated. Based on siad roles, then the team can have a conversation on what was delivered and what was not after the championship."