 Aboya withLink Tochigi Brex in Japan in 2010 | |
| NBA Academy Africa | |
|---|---|
| League | Road to BAL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1985-01-02)2 January 1985 (age 40) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Tilton School (Tilton, New Hampshire) |
| College | UCLA (2005–2009) |
| NBA draft | 2009:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2009–2015 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2009–2010 | Olympique Antibes |
| 2010 | Link Tochigi Brex |
| 2010–2011 | Hitachi Sunrockers |
| 2012 | Bucaneros de La Guaira |
| 2012 | Final Gençlik |
| 2012–2013 | Shiga Lakestars |
| 2013 | Final Gençlik |
| 2013–2014 | Fort Wayne Mad Ants |
| 2014 | Reno Bighorns |
| 2014 | Al-Ittihad Tripoli |
| 2014 | Reno Bighorns |
| 2014–2015 | Los Angeles D-Fenders |
Coaching | |
| 2019–2021 | Iowa Wolves (assistant) |
| 2022–present | NBA Academy Africa |
| Career highlights | |
Alfred Aboya Baliaba (born 2 January 1985) is a Cameroonian former professionalbasketball player and current coach. He playedcollege basketball for theUCLA Bruins, advancing to threeFinal Fours. He was a member of the winningest class in UCLA history with 123 wins.
Aboya grew up and attended high school in Cameroon before attendingprep school in the United States. He attended college at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned his undergraduate degree in three years while playing four seasons for the Bruins. Aboya began his professional career in France, and later played in Japan, Venezuela, Turkey, and Libya. He also played in the United States in theNBA Development League (now known as the G League).
Aboya was born inYaoundé, Cameroon, to his mother, Kedi Kofane Angele, and his father, Baliaba Aboya Casimir.[1]
He graduated from high school in Cameroon and then attendedprep school atTilton School inTilton, New Hampshire. He was recruited by Tilton coach Scott Willard, who had only seen a picture of Aboya soaring for aslam dunk. The school was looking to grow its international student population, and it was developing anEnglish as a Second Language program. Tilton had never had any students from Africa, and while Aboya spoke a couple of languages, none of them were English. He was a star in two sports including basketball. Though he had already graduated from high school, Aboya was willing to sacrifice two years at Tilton as a path toward an American university education.[2]
He was a raw player when he began at Tilton. He became a dominant center by his senior year, and he drew attention from colleges likeGeorgetown and UCLA. On a visit to theWest Coast, Aboya became friends withLuc Richard Mbah a Moute, who grew up near him in Yaoundé.[2]
Joined by Mbah a Moute, Aboya began attending UCLA in the fall of 2005. The two teammates relied on each other for support. UCLA advanced to theFinal Four in each of Aboya's first three seasons.[3] In his first year, he was originally set to be a starter until he hadarthroscopic surgery on both knees, delaying his debut until the seventh game of the season. He played 33 games, starting two, in2005–06.[4] Inhis second year, he played in 35 of the Bruins' 36 games, including one start. That season, he had almost as manyoffensive rebounds (68) as he diddefensive rebounds (79).[1] As a junior in2006–07, Aboya was one of four teammates to play in all 39 games. He made 17 starts, playing 15.2 minutes per game while averaging 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds.[1]
In his senior year in2008–09, UCLA relied on him as a rebounder after Mbah a Moute andKevin Love had left for theNational Basketball Association (NBA).[3] Aboya averaged 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds a game, both personal bests.[2][5] He drew praise for his defense, and also developed a 12-foot (3.7 m)jump shot.[6] Aboya and fellow senior teammatesDarren Collison andJosh Shipp finished their careers as the winningest class in UCLA history with 123 wins.[7][8][9] The distinction was relative, asJohn Wooden's legendary teams played shorter seasons and freshmen were ineligible.[8]
Academically, Aboya felt he had fallen behind during his two years in prep school. He worked with his academic adviser to earn his undergraduate degree in three years, graduating with agrade point average over 3.0 ininternational relations. In his fourth year, he began work on his master's degree inpublic policy.[2][3] He aspired to one day become thepresident of Cameroon.[3]
After going undrafted in the2009 NBA draft, he joined the Dallas Mavericks for the 2009 NBA Summer League. In September 2009, he signed withBCM Gravelines.[10] However, he was released a week later.[11]
In October 2009, he signed withOlympique Antibes of theLNB Pro B, before joiningLink Tochigi Brex of theJapan Basketball League (JBL) in January 2010.[12]
In the summer of 2010, he signed with theHitachi Sunrockers of the JBL for the 2010–11 season.[13]
He signed withBucaneros de La Guaira ofLiga Profesional de Baloncesto for the 2012 season, but he left in February 2012 and in March moved toFinal Gençlik of theTurkish Basketball Second League.[13][14][15]
He played the 2012–13 season withShiga Lakestars of Japan before being released in early 2013.[14][16]
In March 2013, he moved back toFinal Gençlik.
On 1 November 2013, he was selected by theFort Wayne Mad Ants in the second round of the 2013 NBA D-League draft.[17] On 22 November, he was waived by the Mad Ants. On 20 December 2013, he was reacquired by the Mad Ants. On 4 February 2014, he was again waived by the Mad Ants.[18] On 20 March 2014, he was acquired by the Reno Bighorns.[19] On 28 March 2014, he was released by the Bighorns after appearing in two games for them.[20] The next month, he joined Al Ittihad Tripoli of Libya.
On 2 November 2014, he was reacquired by the Reno Bighorns.[21] On 12 December 2014, he was waived by the Bighorns after appearing in seven games.[22] Six days later, he was acquired by theLos Angeles D-Fenders.[23] On 28 January 2015, Aboya was waived by the D-Fenders,[24] only to be reacquired less than a month later on 25 February.[25]
On 30 October 2019, Aboya was hired as an assistant and player development coach by theIowa Wolves of theNBA G League.[26]
In 2021, Alfred Roland Aboya Baliaba was appointed as theAssistant Coach of the Cameroon Men's National Team during the FIBA 2021 Afrobasket,[27] where the team lost all three group games. Subsequently, he was promoted to the position of Head Coach. Under his leadership, the team participated in the 2023 FIBA African World Cup Qualifiers,[28] achieving a record of 4 wins and 8 losses, placing third in Group B and failing to qualify for the next stage.
In 2022, Aboya became a coach for theNBA Academy Africa program, located inSenegal. In November, he was the head coach of the academy's team in the2023 BAL qualification games.[29]
During the FIBA 2023 AfroCAN competition, Aboya did not serve as the coach, and the team finished 11th overall.[30] However, he resumed his role as Head Coach in August 2023 during the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Nigeria. During this tournament, Cameroon's team, under Aboya's leadership, went undefeated, securing qualification for the qualifiers for the second time in their history.[31]
