Imagine being in a restaurant in Berlin or Munich and all of a sudden a tall blond man walks by. Many people not only basketball nerds would recognize NBA champion Dirk Nowitzki. But one doesn´t only have to be Nowitzki, Dennis Schroeder or Franz Wagner to be recognized by young German kids dreaming of playing professional basketball. For Namori Omog (188-G-2006), he would surely be able to know right away who those 3 German superstars are, but now adays with the NBA being so popular, young German kids don´t only recognize the German players, but even NBA superstars in the making. Namori Omog had that opportunity during his year in the States when he went to a high school in Atlanta, Georgia. “I was in a restaurant in Atlanta and saw Anthony Edwards. I saw him in the distance and called to him and he talked with me. He answered questions and had no problem posing with pics with me. What I really liked about him was that he is exactly the way he is presented in the media. That was one of my greatest basketball moments off the court while on the court playing against France with the U-15 national team. It was great measuring up against the biggest French talents and it really helped my game”, stressed Namori Omog, Omog is a big German talent playing with the NBBL (U-19) team of Eintracht Frankfurt Skyliners and the Pro B team Frankfurt Skyliners.

Anthony Edwards followed by Rudy Gobert in Boston in 2024

Namori Omog who lists Ivan Kharchenkov, Eric Reibe, Justin Onyejiaka, Ivan Crnjac and Jordan Samare as his best teammates of all-time was born on July 26th, 2006 and grew up in Wiesbaden. He has a younger brother and had a nice childhood. He tried out many sports as a young boy including soccer and began to play basketball at age 6 and then decided to stick with it. Like most young kids he had special basketball role models and chose Lebron James and Kyrie Irving. “I always respected Lebron´s story going from a rough childhood and being able to go so far. I like his personality which really has inspired me. I also like how he stands for political views and has had a great family. I also liked Kyrie Irving as I always liked how he played the game and I always wanted to play like he did”, stated Namori Omog. He then came to Frankfurt and played with their U-14 team. “My favorite Skyliner then was Isaac Bonga. I really was impressed how far he was able to go as a young player. My goal was always to follow in his footsteps”, added Namori Omog.

Namori Omog and Jamie Edoka

Last season the quick guard who lists Lebron James as his GOAT played a good role with Eintracht Frankfurt Skyliners U19 team averaging 7.9ppg, 3.7rpg, 2.9apg, 2.0spg, FGP: 42.3%, 3PT: 13.3%, FT: 56.1%, and also played 2 Pro B games. “I think that I did a good job defensively that season pressuring guards and disrupting opponents offenses and was a good leader and organizing the offense, but I needed to have had better decision making”, remembered Namori Omog. He scored in double figures in 3 games last season including 18 points against Hanau,15 points against Heidelberg and 13 points against Sud Hessen. He has high goals for this season as he wants to become even more dangerous in many different ways. “I want to improve my decision making and on offense be able to not only use my quickness to make easy lay ups, but score from various distances including using a floater”, said Namori Omog. This season´s team is very talented and who knows could make some noise in the playoffs again. The team has a massive leader with Ivan Crnjac and with Jamie Edoka, Omog are a potent duo at the guard position especially at the defensive end. “Ivan is very talented. You could already see that with his performances last season. This season he is showing just how good of a shooter he is and that he has a big advantage over other players. Jamie is very athletic and already very far with his development physically. We have the opportunity to pressure guards and put them in difficult situations for a whole game. I think we could become a top defensive duo in the NBBL”, warned Namori Omog. This season he continues to get Pro B minutes which will continue to bolster his development. “I have noticed that the Pro B isn´t youthlike, but adultlike. I know where my boundries are and what steps I need to make. I have to play more smart and not count on my first instincts. I have to show something, but then actually do it differently”, warned Namori Omog. In the NBBL (U-19) league he is averaging 8,5ppg, 3,0rpg, 5,0apg and 2,5spg while in the Pro B is averaging 4,0ppg, 1,5rpg and 1,4apg. He scored 14 points against Pro B team Wurzburg.

The 188cm guard who lists Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore compares his game to the athletic and explosive Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. “I love his energy. He is always positive and is able to transform his energy to his teammates. He shows his energy in his athleticism. He is always active on offense and always supplying much pressure on defense. I want to be able to be aggressive at both ends and always use my energy to help my team”, warned Namori Omog. He is a player that excels with his defensive aggressiveness, quickness with the ball and his finishing while his outside shot is still a work in progress. He fills the stat sheet extremely well, but stats aren´t high on his menu, but versatility is. “We have a lot of potential on the NBBL team. Winning is the most important thing for me and helping my team with my versatility. I believe that I can impact the game in many ways. I just try to be there for my teammates at all times”, warned Namori Omog. Even if he has a potent offensive game, it could be his defense that really will carry him in his development this season. “I feel like I´m an aggressive defender now and be successful with my quickness and disrupt other teams offense over the whole court. I feel like I have more potential to read where the passes will go. I will work on it. I don´t only want to be successful with my quickness, but also use my IQ”, stressed Namori Omog.It will be interesting to see where his journey will go in the next few years. One thing is for sure, a lot of the success of this year´s Frankfurt NBBL team rests in his hands. His aggressive and potent defensive game could be the difference in many games this season especially in the post season.