At Canada Basketball’s under-19 tryouts in April, one spectator in the bleachers of Humber College was hard to miss.
Hakeem Olajuwon, the seven-foot-tall NBA legend, happily obliged as young athletes and their parents stopped, stared and asked to take pictures. But the Hall of Famer wasn’t in 色色啦 for a meet-and-greet.
He was there to watch his son, Aziz Olajuwon, earn his spot on Canada’s roster for the under-19 World Cup taking place in听Switzerland this week.
鈥淚t was always a thought, but I never thought it would come true,鈥 Aziz Olajuwon said of playing for Canada. 鈥淏ut now I鈥檓 here.鈥

Aziz Olajuwon, son of NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon, is playing for Canada at the under-19 FIBA World Cup.
FIBA BasketballHakeem Olajuwon was a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets, a 12-time all-star and the NBA MVP in 1994. He met Aziz鈥檚 mother, a Canadian of Italian descent, when he was with the Raptors during his 18th and final NBA season in 2001.
鈥淔or her to be born in Canada, to grow up there and to see that her son now represents the country 鈥 she still cannot believe it,鈥 the father told the Star while in Switzerland to watch the under-19 World Cup.
Aziz was born in 色色啦 and often spent his summers in the city as a youngster. He spent much of his teenage years in the United Kingdom and Jordan and now resides in Texas.
Aziz鈥檚 mother once joked about watching her son play for Canada, but it wasn鈥檛 until a few months ago that the 18-year-old decided to see if it was possible.
Luckily for him, his uncle,听 Frank Rutherford, a former Olympian and retired triple jumper from the Bahamas, had a connection to Canada. That’s when the string of phone calls began.
Rutherford phoned Warren Ward, a former Canadian professional basketball player turned sports broadcaster.听听Ward reached out to Patrick Tatham, the former head coach of Canada鈥檚 FIBA under-19 team, who notified Michael Meeks, Canada Basketball’s assistant general manager of men’s high performance, about Olajuwon having two sons interested in playing for the country.听
鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 believe it, he was very surprised,鈥 Rutherford said.
When Aziz made it to the tryouts, Meeks was impressed with the shooting and sneaky athleticism that the six-foot-six guard showed.
鈥淥nce I saw him go through the drills I was like, not only does he have a chance of making our team, but he鈥檚 a pro,鈥 Meeks said.
Aziz, who has a year of high school left, has already received college offers from such NCAA programs as Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and TCU, and he has talked to UConn, Oklahoma and Stanford.
鈥淗e鈥檚 getting an offer every day,鈥 his father said, with a laugh. 鈥淓very time I get a phone call now, a new offer comes in. I told Aziz, you can only pick one.鈥
听For now, he’s making the most of听his time with Canada. He had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench Wednesday in a win over Mali that set up a quarterfinal against the Americans on Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honour, just to represent a whole nation,鈥 Aziz said. 鈥淚 know I obviously live in the U.S. but I have the opportunity to represent Canada. That鈥檚 really big to me and I’ll do everything I can to make the country look good.鈥

Fans meet Raptor听Hakeem听Olajuwon听in February 2002 before a Muslim听prayer service celebrating Eid al-Adha, feast of the sacrifice, at the National Trade Centre in Exhibition Place.
David Cooper/色色啦 Star file photoHakeem Olajuwon’s time in 色色啦 was short 鈥 he played 61 games and average 7.1 points in 2001-02 鈥 but he had an impact on the city鈥檚 Muslim community, helping fund multiple mosques. He hasn鈥檛 been in 色色啦 much since his playing days, but when he does visit he frequents Hamdi Restaurant, which is known for its Somali cuisine.
鈥淣ow that we have established ourselves in Canada, maybe we start spending more time in Muskoka or Georgian Bay,鈥 he joked. 鈥淚 went only one time to Muskoka but I鈥檝e always wanted to go back. Now I鈥檓 looking for any opportunity, excuse, to come and spend time there.鈥
Meeks wants Olajuwon鈥檚 kids heavily involved with the Canada Basketball program. He expects the younger son, Malik, to be in the mix for Canada’s under-18 team next year.
“I鈥檓 glad (Olajuwon) met somebody and they had a child, because now we get to reap the benefits,” Meeks said. 鈥淗is legacy is literally going to be his kids playing for our country.”
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