Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) side Orion BBC's new point guard Jared Harrington is relishing the new challenge playing in Rwanda.
The American, who will also double as a member of the club&039;s board, is one of three foreign new players that Orion has recently signed as the club pushes to improve its squad ready to challenge against the best during the second round of the league campaign, especially targeting a playoffs qualification.
In an interview with Times Sport, Harrington said he is happy and proud to join Orion with whom he looks forward to achieving great things together.
He watched from the bench as his new team beat IPRC-Kigali 92-69 on Saturday at Kepler basketball court, a performance that impressed him. That way, he anticipates a good debut season with Orion as he hopes to help the team in upcoming fixtures.
"Orion is a new club, the Rwanda Basketball League is one of the strongest leagues throughout Africa," he said.
"I had a chance to meet some of the guys yesterday. This upcoming week, I'll start to train with some of them,” he added.
Orion is currently in seventh place in the league, but Harrington is confident that the team can make it into the play-off should they maintain their top form.
The American, besides being a basketball player, is a businessman and philanthropist who has recently been playing in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) which is currently making a great impact in Africa through his Arenas and film studio projects.
He is now a board member in Orion after he agreed to be the club’s business partner. "It was a no-brainer to be a part of the team’s business ambitions,” he said.
Asked if he thinks Rwandan basketball is worth investing in, he said, "Absolutely yes. When you look at the jerseys of the Basketball Africa League, you'll notice Visit Rwanda. So Rwanda is doing a good job of bringing technology, innovation, tourism, you know, aspects to it. So as a businessman, I'm definitely interested in rewinding basketball and rewinding sports," he said.
Harrington is one of Orion’s three new signings. American Deshaun Morman is another signing who made his debut during Saturday’s game against IPRC while South Sudanese Lualwadang Ayii is also in town and getting ready to join the rest of the group.