Ulrich Chomche, who was scheduled to play for Rwanda's Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) at this year's Basketball Africa League (BAL), has been left off their roster for the Sahara Conference in Dakar as he prepares for next month's NBA Draft.
Cameroonian center/power forward Chomche, who recently played for Team World at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland and got a game-high 3 blocks, has been invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will be held May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago. Bronny James is another of the 78 prospects who received an invite.
APR are currently in Dakar for the Sahara Conference (May 4-12), where they are competing for a place in the BAL playoffs in Kigali (May 24-June 1).
The 6-foot-11 prospect played last year for REG, where his performances helped them to the playoffs.
APR head coach Mazen Trackh said of Chomche's absence: "I was following closely all year pre-draft and where he stood... As the year was going, I had a feeling that he would be going anywhere from 8th to 20th pick, so we were prepared.
"When they told us - I think it was about two weeks ago or two and a half weeks ago - it didn't really hurt us as far as preparation [goes].
"[He is a] great player. He's going to be a first round pick. He would have helped us out immensely, but it is what it is and we have to move on. The guys that we have on this team all stepped up and I'm proud of them."
Trackh has accepted that he will be without one of his most important weapons even if APR make the playoffs, but as Chomche looks to become the first former BAL player drafted in the NBA alongside fellow former BAL players Thierry Darlan and Babacar Sané, it is a loss his team has so far been able to bear.
It was in Dakar last year that Chicago Bulls legend Joakim Noah -- now an investor in NBA Africa -- declared Chomche the new "hope" of Cameroon.
"Ulrich is our spirit right now. He's our fighting spirit and he's the hope," French-Cameroonian former star Noah told ESPN at the time.
"There's a lot of work that he's doing. I see his work ethic. I see the way that he runs the floor and I'm proud of him.
"I feel like the BAL is a great platform for him to play against top talent, to play against grown men, so this is what he's going to have to do to get better, but obviously, the sky's the limit to him and we're always going to be there to support him."
APR dethroned REG as Rwandan champions to qualify for this season and Chomche had been allocated via the BAL Elevate program to them.
He was set to team up with Mike Dixon, who was the BAL MVP in 2022, but APR have now suffered a double blow as Dixon left for Egypt's Al Ittihad and Chomche stayed in the US after the Nike Hoop Summit.
Mouhamed Camara has replaced Chomche as APR's BAL Elevate player. Camara was previously with Burundi's Dynamo BBC, who were disqualified from the BAL over their refusal to wear the Visit Rwanda logo amid political tension between the two countries.