KG-MVP21

HOUSTON, Aug. 13 ? Playing for the Nigerian junior national team in the All-African Games in 1979, Hakeem Olajuwon demonstrated so much potential that an opposing basketball coach recommended he attend college in the United States.

Less than a year later, Olajuwon, a skinny 7-foot teenager, landed a scholarship at the University of Houston.

Olajuwon led the Cougars to consecutive N.C.A.A. championship games before the Houston Rockets selected him as the first pick of the 1984 N.B.A. draft.

He retired 18 years later with two titles, a Most Valuable Player award and two defensive player of the year awards. He is seventh on the N.B.A.?s career scoring list and the top shot blocker in league history.

Olajuwon became a naturalized American citizen in 1993 and won a gold medal with the United States at the 1996 Olympics, but his loyalty to Nigeria is the reason its national men?s basketball team was in Houston this week.

?That?s how I got discovered,? said Olajuwon, who was born in Lagos, Nigeria.

At his invitation, the 12-player squad arrived Thursday night to train with him at Memorial Hermann-Houston Baptist University Wellness Center before departing Monday for Japan to participate in the 24-team world championship beginning Saturday. The team had been training in the Dallas area and in Las Vegas.

?It?s just incredible ? his sincerity to somehow get involved and be a part of what we?re doing,? said Sam Vincent, the former N.B.A. player who is coaching the Nigerian team.

The Nigerian men?s basketball team has never appeared in the Olympics, though it could secure a spot in the Beijing Games in 2008 with an unlikely championship in Japan.

The team qualified for the world championship by taking bronze at the FIBA Africa Championship in Algeria last year.

To be eligible for the team, a player must be born in Nigeria or carry a Nigerian passport through his parents, Vincent said.

One of Nigeria?s captains is Ime Udoka, who averaged 2.8 points in eight games with the Knicks last season.

Other notable players include the former Oklahoma standout Ebi Ere, the former Texas forward Gabe Muoneke and the Maryland senior forward Ekene Ibekwe.

Golden State Warriors center Ike Diogu and Philadelphia 76ers guard Andre Iguodala are also of Nigerian descent and could play for the national team if it qualifies for the Olympics, Vincent said.

?Nigeria is blessed with incredible talent,? Vincent said. ?Because of maybe less than good organization and preparation, their teams have never been able to take the place on the international scene that it deserves.?

Basketball stills lags far behind soccer in Nigeria, which has a population of about 120 million.

Besides Olajuwon, a goalkeeper for much of his youth, the country has also produced the former Nets center Yinka Dare and the current Boston Celtics center Michael Olowokandi.

But there is increasing fanfare and government support for basketball, Udoka said.

And there are signs of success. The women?s basketball team won its first Olympic game in Athens in 2004.

Udoka said he expected Nigeria to improve on its 2-3 record and 13th-place finish in its previous trip to the world championships, in 1998.

?There are some teams that we definitely should beat, and if we upset a team or two, we?ll be fine,? Udoka said.

The top four teams from each six-team group advance to the next round. Nigeria?s group includes the Olympic champion, Argentina; the defending world champion, Serbia and Montenegro; and France, which features several N.B.A. players.

Olajuwon?s involvement with the Nigerian national team could have significant implications for the future, Vincent said. Working out with Olajuwon could become an annual summer event, he said.

?He?s the guy that has the network, the resources,? Vincent said. ?He?s got the credibility, the professionalism and the history. He?s the guy who can pull a lot of things together for us and help us focus on three- to five-year plans as opposed to yearly plans.?

The team practiced for two hours Friday morning, and afterward at least two players had their photographs taken with Olajuwon.

?I had to get one,? said Chamberlain Oguchi, a junior swingman for Oregon who grew up in Houston watching Olajuwon play for the Rockets. ?It?s a great honor to be on the same court as him. He?s a legend.?

After Nigeria scrimmaged Friday night against a group of Houston-area players, the team went with Olajuwon to a local African restaurant for Nigerian and South African delicacies.

Olajuwon, who lives in Amman, Jordan, with his wife and five children, has been in Houston the past two weeks as part of his annual summer visit to the city. In addition to the Nigerian national team, he has been working out with Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats and other young players in one-on-one drills.

His passion for tutoring basketball players is evident. Clad in a sweat-stained red T-shirt and black shorts Friday, he frequently rested his hulking hands on his knees between repetitions, but his trademark offensive post moves were still dangerous.

He swiftly blocked one of Okafor?s shots and made a nifty move against another player to free himself for a duck-in layup.

?That?s abuse,? Okafor said.

Olajuwon teaches through playing, so at 43 he is competing against players half his age.

He is already eyeing a potential game between the United States and Nigeria in the world championships. The earliest that matchup could happen is in the quarterfinals.

?I?m from Nigeria, born in Nigeria,? Olajuwon said. ?I?m an American who plays basketball. This is an American game.

?If Nigeria plays U.S.A., it?ll be a good basketball game. The best team will win.?