EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PART 1: Canadian-born Ghanaian point guard Antwi Atuahene

Canadian-born Ghanaian point guard Antwi Atuahene speaks to BASKETBALLghana.com on a wide range of issues bordering on his career.

BS- How does it feel to be back after 20 years?

Antwi Atuahene: It’s feels amazing to be back after 20-years. The best thing about is when I came home, I have seen all my family members, friends, cousins and everybody. I was born in Toronto at a very young age. I think about nine. I was here for at least two and half months so I really got engaged in the Ghanaian culture. Since coming back it’s been great. If you don’t know where you’re from, you don’t know where you’re going and so it was always good to come back and embrace Ghanaian culture.

BS: How did you grow up?

Antwi Atuahene: I grew up in Toronto with my father, mother, elder brother. My parents are from Ghana. My father went to abroad to study. He went to Franc to study French and thought the language before he moved to Canada and brought my mother also. At that point, when I was with my family, they instill a lot of Ghanaian culture in me. So when I was growing up I spoke twi to ensure we knew where we were from.

BS: What are your views on the level of basketball development in Ghana?

Antwi Atuahene: So far the interest is tilted towards football but basketball is still coming up strongly. There are lots of kids who love the game but there are not enough facilities. But from watching clips, the kids are very athletic and need to polish their skills and the sky will be the limit. If you go to Europe, they polish basketball skills as well as football skills. Basketball is an amazing sport

BS: Do you keep tabs with the progress of the game in Ghana while in Canada?

Atuahene: Honestly I hadn’t been keeping tabs before until the last few years. Because I have a friend called Boateng, he’s from Great Britain and he plays in the United States. He came to Ghana in 2010 and told me the number of talented players in the country. Since then I have been keeping tabs on the development of the game through youtube and other social media outlets.

BS: What are some of the challenges you faced during your time at Canadian side London Lightning?

Atuahene: In the beginning I was playing in Lithuania and so when I came to Canada, there was a situation in the team and so I left. I was at home and had a call from London Lightning and played for the remainder of the second half of the season. We won the championship. I was the first Canadian point guard in the team and was in the All-star team. Afterwards the next season, I switched to the Island storm and a year after I got a contract to go and play in Colombia. That’s why I left the team before the play-offs.

BS: What are some of they challenges you’ve faced so far?

Atuahene: For me as an individual, I have had a lot of challenges. Not because I’m a Ghanaian or Canadian-Ghanaian. The basketball sport is so much played in America. I learnt to play the game from my older brother and cousin. So that’s the big challenge to begin with. So training wise, it was difficult but after learning ahead of the game, leaving Canada to play in America was difficult. And because you are Ghanaian on top of that, there are stereotypes because people think since you’re from Canada, you should play either soccer or hockey. That’s the main challenges.

BS: Have you suffered any form of racial abuse?

Antwi Atuahene: Honestly in Canada, there is no issue about racism because we’re multi-cultured. But when I went to Europe and played in Poland and Lithuania, I suffered many forms of racism with my teammates, fans. Sometimes some of my teammates do not even talk to me because of my skin colour. But I am the point guard and you have to talk to the point guard.

BS: How did you take these forms of racial abuse? 

Antwi Atuahene: It was difficult at first but then you have to realize that they don’t know any better. It’s ignorance. They grew up that way and it’s not they want to be that way. Because some people racially abused me, later they got to know me and since then they have changed. Some said wow, you’re a good guy! Black guys are good guys. I try not to judge anybody.

BASKETBALLghana.com will bring you the concluding part of this exclusive interview.