CEBL star Prince Oduro’s love of basketball was shaped in Toronto neighbourhood gyms

For Prince Oduro, chasing his basketball dreams once meant leaving his hometown of Toronto behind.

Like many other Canadian basketball players, the path to success ran through the United States.

After a few years spent playing abroad, it turns out the opportunity he’d been searching for was waiting for him at home. 

Now the longest-tenured player in Brampton Honey Badgers history, Oduro’s story reflects the rise of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, a league changing what it means to “make it” in Canada.

“I thought my dreams were somewhere else,” Oduro told CBC Sports. “Then it’s like the universe brought me back home and it was actually here.”

After leaving home to play Division 1 basketball in the U.S., Oduro struggled to find consistent playing time, which gradually increased when  he began his CEBL career with the then Hamilton Honey Badgers  in 2022.

“I had some adversities. I didn’t really get to play as much or get the opportunity I wanted,” he said.

That changed when he joined the Brampton Honey Badgers. “That was the first team that believed in me and gave me a chance,” he said. “With that chance, a lot of great things have happened.”

CEBL star Prince Oduro talks about the full circle moment of staying local for basketball

Before his professional career began, Oduro’s love for the game was shaped in Toronto neighbourhood gyms.

“I was born in the west end of Toronto. I moved around a lot, but the first place I called home was Falstaff,” he said. “There's a community centre in that neighbourhood, if you know anything about basketball, there's this team called Grassroots Canada.”

Growing up experiencing the rich basketball culture in Toronto helped draw Oduro further into the sport. The impact of having fellow