Alex Nwora ’93—a member of the Daemen College Athletics Hall of Fame— is currently serving as an associate head coach of the Nigeria Men’s National Team in the Olympics in Tokyo.
Alex Nwora, playing for the then-Daemen Warriors, 1993
Nwora and his son, Jordan—a guard on the Nigerian team and just-crowned 2021 NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks during his rookie season—are believed to be the first father-son coach-player members of an Olympic team in history.
During his four seasons (1989-93) at Daemen, Alex Nwora became the first Wildcat to amass 1500 points and 1000 rebounds and earned honorable mention All-American recognition for his senior campaign. After graduating, his playing career continued, touring with the teams playing nightly against the internationally-known Harlem Globetrotters.
In the Tokyo Games, Nigeria—coached by Mike Brown, former head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and currently an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors—has played Australia, Germany and Italy.
Earlier this summer, the Nigerian team (also known as the D’Tigers) stunned Team USA, beating a roster featuring many NBA All-Stars in an exhibition game.
Nwora, a native of Nigeria, served as head coach of the country’s national team from 2017-2020 and led the squad to a second-place finish at the 2017 FIBA Africa Championships.
Previously, he was head coach of the Republic of Cape Verde’s national team from 2009-2014.
A resident of Western New York, Nwora coaches the SUNY Erie men’s team and has led the Kats to numerous regional titles and earned multiple coach-of-the-year honors since taking the helm of the program in 2001.
Nwora graduated from Daemen with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.