KUNAIYI-AKPANAH Pallas

Athlete

Communications, Media Studies - Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

English

Faenza Basket Project [Italy] since 2021

Diego Sguaizer [club]; Otis Hughley [national]

Forward (basketball.eurobasket.com, 01 Jan 2020)

2019 for Nigeria, African Championships in Mozambique (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

She began playing basketball at age 14 in Nigeria. (womenshoopsworld.com, 21 Mar 2019; Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

Her parents signed her up for a basketball training programme due to her height. She began taking the sport seriously when she met Mobolaji Akiode who ran Hope 4 Girls Africa, a non-profit focusing on empowering girls in Nigeria through sport and education. Akiode took her to the United States of America through a scholarship, where she was able to pursue both her education and the sport. "I remember playing a bit of basketball at my boarding school in Nigeria and I was terrible at the time. But people would still pass me the ball because I'm like the tallest person there, and they're like, 'Here you go!' and I'm like, 'I don't know what to do with this!' [Moving to the United States] was definitely different and was definitely tough. But, you know, people at Rabun Gap [a boarding school in Georgia] treated me just like family, and it wasn't too bad after that." (dailynorthwestern.com, 05 Mar 2019)

To win multiple Olympic medals. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

"I have to do my pre-game stretch routine before every game." (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)