Three young Ugandan basketball players have earned opportunities to travel to the United States after impressing SYSTM Sports founder Dimitrios Seymour during a one-day Elite Camp at Lugogo Indoor Stadium.
Orom Khor of HBAcademy and Emma High School, Evans Shyaka of the Junior Silverbacks Under-16 team and Pierre Laurent Rwuhiriro of St Michael and the Junior Silverbacks Under-18 side stood out during the camp held on Wednesday.
The trio caught the attention of Seymour, who has extensive experience working with the NBA and NCAA, and will now be taken to the United States as part of SYSTM Sports’ programme to expose promising young African players to high-level basketball and educational opportunities.
Seymour said the main objective of the Uganda camp was to identify young players with the talent and potential to benefit from opportunities in the United States and Canada.
“I have worked with the NBA and NCAA for the last 11 and four years respectively. My experience is very vast and I have worked with players overseas in Spain, China, Germany, Canada among others,” Seymour said.
“As SYSTM Sports, our mission is to give opportunities to kids across the world and it’s what has brought us to Kampala.”
Seymour said the organisation wants to create a bridge between talented young players and basketball programmes in North America.
“Our goal is to bring as many kids over to United States and Canada for high school basketball academy scholarships. We just want to act as a bridge to bring as many kids over that are elite talent and deserve the opportunity to be seen by coaches,” he said.
The scout was impressed by the level of talent on display in Uganda and believes the country has the potential to become the next major basketball hub in East Africa.
“There is so much talent in Uganda for many years now. The senior team, the Under-18 and Under-16, have done well on the continent and this country is perfectly positioned in East Africa to be the next hub of African basketball,” Seymour said.
“My goal is to provide many opportunities as possible.”
Seymour said identifying players while they are still young is particularly important because it gives them enough time to develop both on and off the court.
“The younger that you are, there is so much potential to continue to learn and develop, not just the skill, but the mentality and mindset which is very important,” he said.
“I think the players in NBA, the skill level is very similar but it’s the mindset and mentality that makes the difference.”
He explained that SYSTM Sports is specifically looking for players who are young enough to enter the US school system, where they can combine basketball development with education.
“I am trying to identify the kids that are very young, where they can still enter ninth grade, 10th grade. It gives them a lot of time to enter the US and Canada to not only learn the speed of the game but to also develop the skillset with professional NBA trainers, to get good academics,” Seymour said.
Physical attributes are also part of the scouting process, with Seymour noting that African players offer a significant advantage in terms of size and wingspan.
“Africa is blessed with a lot of size across the continent, players with good height and longer wing spans, and unfortunately in the United States we are not blessed with that,” he said.
“I am trying to find the right balance of someone who has size and can play in multiple positions.”
The Uganda camp was conducted by SYSTM Sports in partnership with the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA), with Duncan Mutembani, a SYSTM Sports partner, leading and coordinating the local initiative.
Mutembani worked alongside FUBA, coaches and academies to identify and prepare players for the one-day camp.
The initiative was also supported by Consio Mwirumubi of Tooro Basketball Academy, Henry Malinga representing schools, Henrison Mbaziira representing academies and Albert Aciko representing coaches, while HBAcademy was among the academies involved in player identification.
Seymour, who has also conducted camps in Nigeria, The Gambia and Ghana this year, said the Uganda camp was his final scouting camp of 2026.
He challenged young players to remain committed to their development and make the most of every opportunity that comes their way.
“Always believe, you never know who is watching, work as hard as you can,” Seymour said.
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