D’Tigress’ attention-grabbing performance which saw Nigeria beat world No.3 Australia as well as become the first African team ever to reach the quarter finals of an Olympic basketball tournament has undoubtedly been a major highlight of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Integral to this incredible feat has been head coach Rena Wakama who has done a lot of wonders in Nigerian basketball in just over a year.
Wakama was an unpopular name in the basketball world but has been magnificent since her appointment in June last year, becoming the first female ever to take charge of the Nigerian women’s basketball team when she replaced the experienced Otis Hughley who had led D’Tigress to three consecutive Afrobasket triumphs.
Wakama was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA on the 11th of April 1992 to her parents – Johnson Wakama and Rosana Oba – who are natives of Okrika, Rivers state.
Her love for basketball started at a tender age and was inspired by her cousin Onimisi Aiyede who was very influential in Wakama’s early life before her cousin sadly passed away in 2020.
After attending Wake Forest high school in her hometown of North Carolina, Wakama proceeded to the University of Western Carolina in 2010 where she spent four years playing for the Catamounts, the institution’s female basketball team.
After grabbing her Bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation in 2014, she bagged a Masters degree in Business Administration from Manhattan College.
Her journey into professional basketball started in 2014 when she became an athlete of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in the United Kingdom.
After a brief career as a Guard during which she played 6 games for the Cardiff Archers from October to November in 2014 and 7 for Nottingham from February to April in 2015, Wakama then switched to FIBA Africa to represent Nigeria on the court also in 2015.
She travelled to Cameroon with D’Tigress for the 2015 Women’s Afrobasket competition where Nigeria finished third but due to a missed registration deadline, her name was not listed on the Nigerian national roster for the competition.
She also represented Nigeria’s First Bank at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women in 2016 before transitioning into coaching which she labelled a calling.
“I knew I wanted to be a coach. I knew that was my calling; that was what I wanted to be,” the 32 year-old said.
“I knew that was my journey; I knew I had more impact organising a team. Even while we were in Cameroon with the girls, I just knew exactly what I wanted to do with my career; that’s my calling, that’s my passion, and I had to follow it. When God puts something in your heart, you have to follow it. I wanted to start early.”
In 2017, Rena returned to Manhattan College to take up the role of Director of Basketball Operations in which she handled budgets, expenses, and other forms of administrative work.
She spent six years at Manhattan College, two of which were in the director position before a transition to the role of Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for the remaining four years, developing talents in the wing/guard position while also serving as the team’s academics and community service liaison.
The Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) came calling after she was approached by D’Tigress general manager Musa Adamu which eventually led to her appointment as the head coach of the Nigerian women’s basketball team on the 30th of June 2023.
Wakama was later named the assistant coach of the Stony Brook Seawolves women’s basketball team in July 2023.
Her appointment as D’Tigress head coach received huge criticism as many questioned the logic behind the replacement of her predecessor Otis Hughley who oversaw a period of great success with the team.
Asides the pressure of reputation, Wakama was saddled with preparing the team for the 2023 Afrobasket in less than a month.
Wakama led D’Tigress to a flawless triumph at the Afrobasket tournament in August 2023 despite a lack of experienced star players of previous years in her squad and she became the first female coach to take a team to the final of the competition as well as win it.
Wakama departed the Stony Brook Seawolves to become an assistant coach of the Tulane Green Wave women’s basketball team in April 2024.
On the lighter side of things, Wakama revealed in an exclusive interview that her good look on and off the basketball court, is purely a Nigerian way.
“That is who we are as Nigerians, we always step in and out in good attires and I always care about how I look”, she said.
The former basketballer gives credit to her mother who normally ensures that she does not leave home without looking cute.
“It is from my mom because my mom always care about how we look and I’m excited that people are looking towards my attire”, Wakama added.
