J. Cole gets slammed by Basketball Africa League player who says the rapper is "Glorified"

American rapper Jermaine Cole, also famously known as J. Cole has taken a huge turn in his career. Cole has signed a deal with the African Basketball League team Rwanda Patriots BBC. The 36-year-old rapper made his debut against the Nigeria River Hoopers team where he scored 3 points. J. Cole is known to be a huge basketball fan and has expressed his desire to play professional basketball before.

In an interview with ESPN, Haydee Ndayishimiye said, “He’s a great basketball player and wants to play the game like everyone else. We understand some other teams may feel this way, but we made a basketball decision first." J. Cole played basketball at Sanford High School and in an episode of Kevin Durant's ETC podcast, he mentioned that he walked off the tryouts at St John’s after which he decided to focus on his music.

J. Cole Stats 

In his 3 games for the Patriots, J. Cole has managed only 5 points, which include a 0-point game. J. Cole stats somewhat prove correct the statement of Terrell Stoglin, a guard from AS Sale team. Stoglin said, "For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average like one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game". J. Cole Africa League record does not look really good but the Patriots have shown faith in him and have come out and defended him. In an interview with ESPN, Haydee Ndayishimiye said, “He’s a great basketball player and wants to play the game like everyone else. We understand some other teams may feel this way, but we made a basketball decision first." 

J. Cole contract 

The rapper signed a 3-6 game deal with the Patriots and in the build-up to his signing had the basketball community excited. Cole has been pretty cold and his stats do not look impressive but the team believes that he has good shooting abilities and possesses a high basketball IQ. There have been no reports yet on a possible contract extension for the rapper, but if these are the final few games in his contract, he will be looking to sign off the league in style.

Basketball Africa League schedule 

The BAL League which is a joint effort by the NBA and the FIBA  had its inaugural game played on May 16. The league is scheduled to be played between May 16-May 30. The 8 teams' playoff will begin on May 26 with the final being played on May 30. The entire league will be played inside a secured bio bubble with all the games being played in the Kigali Arena. Regular tests have been conducted to ensure safety in the bubble. All games of the BAL will be broadcasted by ESPN Africa.