The accolades keep rolling in for Burlington’s Caleb Agada. Last week, Caleb was not only named as the top Canadian player in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and was runner up for the top defensive player in the league, he also played a key role in the Hamilton Honey Badgers winning the championship in Ottawa.
Success has followed the ultra-athletic Agada throughout his career, having an All-Canadian career at the University of Ottawa and heading into the sixth year of his professional career, but in many ways, he owes the Ron Edwards YMCA on Drury Lane for giving him the start and then the motivation to get better and better.
“I was born in Nigeria and moved to Canada in 2000,” Agada says. “I lost my dad when I was very young and had a lot of energy as a kid so my mom enrolled me at the Y to keep me out of trouble and to have fun being a kid. I got involved with every activity that the Y had to offer, from swimming to floor hockey and soccer, but it was basketball that I gravitated to. What is ironic is that at the Y, I thought I was a very good player and perhaps that is why I loved it, but then other kids like Daniel Dooley and Jordan Scott started to play and I realized that I wasn’t all that good and became determined to get better.”
A personal side to this story is that I was coaching a Burlington rep basketball team and when Caleb was in grade six, by then a good friend of Daniel and Jordan and players Greg Owens and Zack Rose, he was cut from the team and then given a ride home from the coach. Caleb laughs at the memory.
“I remember that day so well as a lesson in not being good enough and it was up to me to work on my game and get better,” Caleb recalls. “The truth is that I wasn’t upset at all because I was nowhere near good enough to make that team. You giving me a ride home makes the memory even more special.”
Caleb began playing organized basketball in elementary school and ironically that is where he met a lot of the local players who went on to play USports basketball, and many of them professionally. The big step in Caleb’s growth and confidence took place at Assumption High School. He made the junior team in grade nine and, even though he sat on the end of the bench, he got great coaching from Joe Babic, who taught Caleb how to shoot, and he learned that his athleticism would take him a long way, but that he had to combine it with a work ethic that knew no bounds.
“My mom was against playing so much basketball and used it as motivation for keeping up my grades and staying out of trouble,” Caleb says. “My best friend Zack Rose helped me so much but, maybe more importantly, his mom, Mary Catherine, helped my mom see the value of playing on a team and learning that being a good teammate would help me socially and athletically. I remember Mrs. Rose doing all the driving and bringing snacks.”
The next phase of his journey involved playing for the Burlington Skyhawks and to this day, Caleb is grateful for the organization helping his mom by paying his fees and allowing him to play high level organized basketball.
“We had no money to be able to do something like that and for the Skyhawks to help out gave me the chance to play with some amazing teammates and learn how to feed off of each other for the betterment of the team,” Caleb says. “That team had great chemistry and we beat a lot of teams we had no business beating. Toronto and Hamilton teams had no respect for Burlington, so it was fun showing them how to play the right way. I carry those memories and lessons as a pro.”
Caleb then took his talents to the University of Ottawa and he again found himself surrounded by great teammates who put the team first, which led to much personal and team success. The university’s Gee-Gees had an 86–13 record during Caleb’s five-year tenure, including the 2013–14 OUA Championship. Caleb was a three-time OUA All-Star and was twice named national defensive player of the year. His last season saw him named as a second team All-Canadian in 2016–17, where he finished his storied career as the fifth all-time scorer and second all-time rebounder in school history.
But all this doesn’t speak to the real benefit he gained from his years in Ottawa.
“The approach we took at Ottawa was a professional way to approach and play the game,” Caleb says. “Coach James Derouin treated us like men with very high expectations that would bode well for me as I turned toward professional basketball.”
Caleb’s professional journey has taken him to Spain, Israel, and Australia, and this summer signed with Prometey, of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, always challenging himself to grow, learn, and get better.
Another path that further prepared Caleb was playing for Canada in the 2015 and 2017 FISU World University Games, but it was when his native Nigeria came calling that Caleb became a world phenomenon. He had a great statistical year in his first season as a pro and Nigeria invited him to play with the national team in 2018. It was the first time in ten years he had been back home.
Nigeria qualified for the 2020 Olympics, which were delayed until 2021. Caleb was going to the Olympics!
Part of the process leading up to the Olympics involved an exhibition game against the United States and this is a story of legend, self-belief, and a lesson learned by Caleb long ago.
“I have always believed that all I can do is my best and my approach to every game is to do whatever I can to dominate a game, either offensively or defensively. I want to be known as a leader and to take advantage of every opportunity I am given to honour God by doing my best,” Caleb explains. “That game was no different. I was not overwhelmed by who we were playing.”
That game had NBA stars like Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and Damian Lillard, but the story of the game was Caleb Agada. He came off the bench and played with no fear, hitting threes and attacking the rim like he has done at every level. He finished the game with 17 points and the Nigerians knocked off the powerful Americans. His efforts got Caleb noticed by the NBA scouts in attendance and he was invited to play in the NBA summer league by the Denver Nuggets.
To bring the story full circle, and to honour his mom and the importance of the future, Caleb has decided to give back to the game by creating AgadaBall. His basketball career is still flourishing, and the NBA dream is still alive, but Caleb is creating a back-up plan for when his days on the court are over. His website talks of clinics and camps. Caleb’s goal is simple, and impressive for a 27-year-old athlete.
“I want to help the next generation,” Caleb explains. “Just as the Burlington Skyhawks helped me, I want to help others who may be in the same situation I was. I have seen the world because of basketball, but I am more than an athlete and there is so much more I can do to better myself and the world I live in. If even one child makes it because of my involvement with them, that would be the greatest feeling. I also want to make sure my mom is taken care of. The AgadaBall movement has basketball as just the beginning, the vehicle that will allow me to diversify. There are so many avenues that I need to explore in order to give back to the community. I’m grateful for the experiences I have had and I want the young people to learn that they too can achieve great things.”
This fine young man, an example for others to follow, is an inspiring story of life sacrifice, leaving home for a better life, and the importance of giving back. You can follow Caleb at his website agadaball.com (including the highlights of that U.S. game) or on Instagram at @agadaball. You can also read a previous article on Caleb local-news.ca/2021/12/30/agada-dreams-of-the-nba-while-playing-abroad/.
