Peter Aluma (23 April 1973 – 2 February 2020) was a Nigerian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player from

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. After high school at Okota Grammar School in Isolo, Nigeria, the 2.08-m (6'10")

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became a star at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

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, U.S. He led the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

in scoring in 1996 and was the conference's top shot blocker in 1996 with 3.9 bpg and 1997 with 3.0 bpg. Aluma was a first-team Big South all-conference selection in 1996 and 1997. He earned second-team honors in 1995. He was named to the conference's all-rookie team in 1994. He was named the Big South tournament MVP in 1994 and 1997 and was a three-time all-tournament selection. He was named all-region selection by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

(NABC) in 1997. Aluma was also honored as an all-state team selection by both the ''

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'' and the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) in 1996 and 1997. In 1996, he was selected for the all-state first team by the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch''. In April 1997, Aluma was invited to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. The P.I.T. invites 64 of the best senior college basketball players from across the nation to participate. It is a four-day, twelve-game tournament. Every NBA team sends scouts to this tournament. He was not invited to attend the NBA's pre-draft camps in

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. On 25 June 1997, he was not taken in the 1997 NBA Draft. Aluma did play briefly for the NBA's

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during the

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-shortened 1998- 1999 season. He was waived on 19 February 1999. During the 1999-2000 preseason, he was signed by the

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, but was waived on 16 October 1999. He was invited to join the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

2000 summer league team. He was released on 21 July 2000. In 1998, Alum played professionally in Venezuela for

Toros de Aragua Toros de Aragua is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Aragua. The club competes in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto (LPB). Notable former players - Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player. - Played at ...

. He also played for Nigeria in the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

. Around February 25, 1999, he was waived by the

Connecticut Pride The Connecticut Pride (From 1993-94 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Hartford from 1993 to 2000, primar ...

of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In 1999, he played in Belarus for the Gomel Wildcats Sozh. In 2001, he played with the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. Aluma then coached high school basketball at

Jefferson Forest High School Jefferson Forest High School (JFHS) is one of the three high schools in Bedford County, Virginia. Jefferson Forest High School was first opened in 1972. The school's Principal is Brian Wilson, and the assistant principals are Jennifer Kline, Ben ...

Forest, Virginia Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Forest is located at (37.370723 ...

from 2002 to 2003. Aluma died on 2 February 2020 at the age of 46.

References

External links

NBA statistics
1973 births 2020 deaths Centers (basketball) Connecticut Pride players Harlem Globetrotters players Liberty Flames basketball players National Basketball Association players from Nigeria Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Belarus Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela Place of death missing Sacramento Kings players Basketball players from Lagos Undrafted National Basketball Association players 1998 FIBA World Championship players {{Nigeria-basketball-bio-stub