REGINA - Ehab Almughrabi, a Palestinian basketball player from Regina, is headed to the Phenom National Camp next year, where current NBA players have played in the past.
While Almughrabi has put alot of time and effort into basketball, he never even considered playing the sport up until a few years ago.
During the pandemic, Almughrabi saw a presentation from a Regina basketball coach, Khalid Loda. At the time, he "really liked the presentation, and it sat in the back of [his] mind for a couple of months."
The Regina Huda School, where Almughrabi attends, opened up a basketball program with Loda called 'Elite Basketball.'
Most basketball teams typically have players try out to get onto the program. However, the goal of Elite Basketball was to raise the skills of the athletes on the team, which meant anybody, including those not familiar with the game of basketball, could join the team.
Almughrabi was offered a spot by Loda in the program. He was hesitant to accept the offer, telling the coach he might come back in a few months. Loda told Almughrabi, "what if the opportunity isn't there in a couple of months." Almughrabi was not sure if he would like basketball, considering he never really cared for the game, but his brother, Ryan, was a player on the team, so he wanted to give it a shot.
After playing basketball throughout the year, Almughrabi realized he wanted to continue playing. He started playing basketball games for the team in Grade 9 because the Regina Huda School has no team for middle schoolers.
Even though Almughrabi has only played for a year now, he and Loda have been training together a lot to improve Almughrabi’s craft.
Almughrabi praised Loda, calling him his "role model." He described how he's gotten so far in basketball because of the way Loda talks, his attitude and the way he trains him.
Almughrabi also puts many hours every week into basketball by practicing four times on the weekend and every day while the season is underway.
During the offseason over the summer, Almughrabi would run and focus his entire day on putting shots up. Almughrabi feels his shooting over the last six to seven months has gotten a lot better. He also works on his strength, spending hours in the gym on some days.
He added, "just being able to work hard. Being consistent is not enough. That’s the minimum (referring to the hours he's spent training). If you’re not working hard, [not focusing on being] disciplined, consistent, you’re not going to be there [at the highest level]."
The hard work Almughrabi put in landed him a spot in the Phenom National Camp, taking place in California in 2025.
He described his excitement and joy when he heard the news regarding going to the camp. Almughrabi believes attending the camp "is a step in the right direction." He pointed out, "there’s not many other opportunities that I’m going to get [for camps] right now that could take me closer to that goal of mine."
Almughrabi believes this camp is an opportunity to absorb as much knowledge as he can. "I’m going to be with players a lot better than me, coaches with way more experience than me. And I’ve always been keen on asking questions whenever I don’t understand anything, whenever I need help. So, I am really excited about that."
From what he’s heard, Almughrabi said the competition in America is different and "everybody there knows how to play."
The camp splits players into age divisions where they join a team and spend the entire week with the players and coach, practising, lifting and playing games.
Some of the very best basketball players in the world have gone through the camp. These include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an NBA player from Toronto who plays with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Trae Young, an NBA player with the Atlanta Hawks.
Getting the chance to play with players like Gilgeous-Alexander or Young one day would mean "everything" to Almughrabi.
He added representing Saskatchewan would be surreal, considering the province does not produce many great basketball talents.
Despite making it into the camp where former NBA players have participated in, Almughrabi doesn’t see himself "to be very massive." He understands he slowly needs to get better every day before considering himself to be a highly skilled basketball player.
He believes the support system behind him has been amazing. "My family, my coach [Khalid Loda], has been there every step of the way. My brother [Ryan] played with me in Grade 12. He trained with me, and now he’s coaching my team [the Regina Huda Hurricanes]."
Almughrabi’s dad has also paid for all his basketball expenses, which he "really appreciates."
Almughrabi has no real plan set for his basketball future. He would love to play collegiate basketball and go far. Right now, Almughrabi is focused on "trying to get as good as I can."
For anyone who wants to start playing basketball, Almughrabi admitted starting to play earlier in your life always helps, but that doesn’t mean someone older cannot become a great player. He used Dennis Rodman, a former NBA player, as an example. Rodman didn’t start playing basketball till his early 20s, and yet, he went on to have a successful career.
