Alumnus of the month – June 2013

Ladi Brown
BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, 2011

“You are students before anything else, your degree will open doors for you so I implore you to put as many hours into that as possible.”

LSBU Accounting and Finance graduate, Ladi Brown, plays basketball for Nigeria and recently came back to campus as part of the Alumni v. Students Sports Day where he played an instrumental role on the court to help drive the alumni basketball team to victory.

Ladi began his studies at LSBU after being offered a scholarship based on his flair for basketball. He recently spoke with the LSBU Alumni Association and reflected on his time as a student: “Without the assistance I received while studying I would not have graduated from the BAAF programme or perform at a high sporting level.”

In 2008, Ladi was a key member of the team who won the European Universities Basketball Champions. It was the first time ever that a London based institute had won the title. The team’s success saw them go on to compete in the World University Championships and finished in 8th place, England’s highest ever. The experience was clearly an emotional one for Ladi: “It was unbelievable…The joy from these memories is difficult to word, I won’t do them justice.”

On Saturday 11 May the first ever Alumni v Students Sports Day was held at LSBU. Teams of rugby, basketball, netball and football gathered for a day of intense competition between current and former students. Ladi was of course playing on the Alumni basketball team, who won their game against the students with a mighty result of 104-60. The day was a huge success, all those involved thoroughly enjoyed themselves, including Ladi: “It was a lot of fun, catching up with people who you spent your most memorable and stressful years with is always going to be a pleasure.”

Ladi’s already impressive sporting résumé steps up a gear with his affiliations with the Nigerian basketball team who are considered as one of the best in Africa and are currently ranked 17th in the world. Playing at such a high level is certainly a big task, for any player: “Playing with the national team is an overwhelming experience: the pressure on you when you participate is immense.” However, he feels there is always room for improvement: “There isn’t much grass root basketball in Nigeria due to a lack of funding, anyone that is of a decent standard travels abroad to explore their options, so I’d like to see an academy nurturing the basketball youth.”

Ladi’s success does not come without hard work and dedication and believes certain qualities are essential in making a great and successful team: “You need commitment, structure, organisation and hardworking players.” Fellow sports men and women take note, wise words!

Finally, we asked Ladi whether he could see himself coming back to LSBU, his response was one we were very pleased to hear: “I plan on completing my ACCA in the near future, so please reserve the jersey with the number 13 on it.”