The 23-year-old, small forward had been playing basketball from the age of 11, developing his traits all over the country and in Italy included. Sheriff then decided to take his talents to the UEL basketball team which was the best decision for him as he described it as “a great location to make business ventures on and off the court and the coach is a really good coach”.
Averaging 12 PTS, 7 RB, 2 Assists last season with an ankle injury, Sheriff’s season was cut short with the pandemic affecting the world. Sheriff tells us his ambitions for the league this upcoming season ahead of the pre-season matches.
Coming from a background where the majority play football, what attracted you to basketball?
“Well for me personally it was more of a thing where I can jump, so I was more fascinated by sports that involved that type of action. I didn’t really see that in football, it was also a thing where I saw a lot more black players in basketball so there was a lot more players that looked like me to look to.”
What player do you look up to?
“One player I look up to a lot is Kobe Bryant because of his mindset towards life and how he strives to be the best for everything he steps into, he did a lot of things outside basketball, he made movies, he made music, he had a lot of endorsements and business ventures. He was just a great person overall, so yeah as a player he maximized himself in and outside of basketball”.
How was playing basketball up north compared to London?
“There were definitely less places to play but it was a lot easier to focus in on basketball, away from the lifestyle the distractions that come with living in London. Also, like being close to home and old friends, when you’re away in any place you don’t really know the place you’re able to focus a lot more.
I was up there, and we had a court that was good enough for me, and the teams that we played up there were pretty decent as there’s a lot more funding up there for the sport in general.”
How have you been able to keep fit during the pandemic?
“I do quite a lot of home workouts. Also living in Hackney, people are always playing in the park so if the weather isn’t too bad all the time I’ll be there. I try and do as much resistance workouts with a negative or something pulling on me. So I’d use a parachute or resistance bands that would try pull me down a bit. I’ve been trying to maintain my explosiveness and my power as you’ll struggle to have that when you get fatigued when we come back. I’ve been making sure that I’m eating enough to make sure I can burn off the calories and maintain cardio fitness, while not being able to access an indoor court. It’s been quite a test as obviously we’re not getting the live action for over a year as a team.”
How would you describe your playing style?
“I’d say my play style is high energy, I play 100 miles per hour which can get you into trouble sometimes but sometimes I find myself as the skinniest guy so if I come with high energy guys kind of want to move out your way and do less defence on you. I play with my teammates by helping them with a whole bunch of defence too”.
What are your ambitions for the UEL team next season?
“Last year we won our league but we fell short in the quarter final of the cup as players were getting injured, and it was also around the time covid first came so some of my teammates were getting sick; I was one of them too. So the team wasn’t at full strength as players were getting ill by the time we reached the playoffs. So next season we’re hoping to win it all, not just our conference championship, but to take on the whole country and become number 1.”
