Ebikekeme Hasain Fere “Ebi” Ere (; born August 2, 1981) is an American-Nigerian former 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 (appro ...

player.

High school and college career

Ere attended McLain High School and played two seasons of junior college basketball for Barton Community College. He then played two seasons of Division I college basketball for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

between 2001 and 2003. In his two-year career at Oklahoma, he averaged 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 70 games. He and teammate Hollis Price led the Sooners to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

where they lost to the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

in the national semi-final.

Professional career

Early years

Ere spent his rookie season in Australia playing for the Sydney Kings during the 2003–04 NBL season. He helped the Kings win their second straight championship playing alongside the likes of C. J. Bruton and Matthew Nielsen. In 40 games for the Kings, Ere averaged 19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Ere's next playing stint came in 2005 with the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League (USBL). He averaged 18.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 23 games and earned All-USBL first team honors. Following the 2005 USBL season, Ere signed with Liège Basket of Belgium for the 2005–06 season. In 30 games for Liège, he averaged 14.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In 2006, Ere returned to Australia and joined the Brisbane Bullets for the 2006–07 NBL season. He made it two championships in two NBL seasons as he led the Bullets to secure the title with a 3–1 grand final series win over the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

. In 39 games for the Bullets in 2006–07, he averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Following the NBL season, he joined Gigantes de Carolina of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

. Ere re-signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the 2007–08 season and earned himself All-NBL first team honors. In 32 games for the Bullets in 2007–08, he averaged a career-high 26.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He again joined Gigantes de Carolina during the NBL off-season. With the Bullets folding following the 2007–08 season, Ere reportedly signed with the South Dragons for the 2008–09 season but decided instead to pursue an NBA contract. When that fell through, he was unable to join the Dragons after the club signed Tremmell Darden rather than waiting for Ere. Ere subsequently signed with cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Tigers. He earned All-NBL first team honors for a second straight year and helped lead the Tigers back to the Grand Final where they were ironically defeated by the South Dragons 3 games to 2. In 37 games for the Tigers, he averaged 20.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. For a third straight year, he played for Gigantes de Carolina during the NBL off-season.

Italy and Spain

In July 2009, Ere signed a one-year deal with Pepsi Caserta of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

. He led his team to the semi-finals and averaged 15.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 38 games. In July 2010, Ere re-signed with Caserta for the 2010–11 season. In 30 league games for Caserta in 2010–11, he averaged 14.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On August 14, 2011, Ere signed with Obradoiro CAB of Spain for the 2011–12 season. His numbers dropped while playing for Obradoiro, averaging a career-low 8.1 points per game in the very competitive

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. On June 20, 2012, Ere signed a one-year deal (with the option of a second) with Cimberio Varese, returning to Italy for a second stint. He was named team captain in 2012–13 and in 39 games for Cimberio, Ere averaged 13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In July 2013, Ere opted in with Cimberio for the 2013–14 season. In 30 league games for Cimberio in 2013–14, he averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Later years

On May 24, 2014, Ere signed with Caciques de Humacao of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional as a replacement for Zach Graham. He played 12 games for Humacao and averaged 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In December 2014, Ere signed a short-term contract with Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

. On January 11, 2015, his contract was extended for a further two months. With the return of Marko Simonović from injury, Ere parted ways with the club on March 16. In 14 games for Pau-Orthez, he averaged 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Two days later, he signed with

Vaqueros de Bayamón The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. In 32 games for Bayamón, he averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. On August 27, 2015, Ere signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the 2015–16 NBL season. Less than a month later, Ere sustained a calf injury which ruled him out of the 2015 Pre-season Blitz tournament. In his 36ers debut on October 7 in the team's season-opening game against the New Zealand Breakers, Ere scored all 13 of his points in the first half to help the 36ers lead 51–26 at half time. The 36ers went on to win the game 90–71. On January 30, 2016, he had a season-best game with 28 points and six three-pointers in a 104–90 win over the Illawarra Hawks. He appeared in all 28 games for the fifth-placed 36ers in 2015–16, averaging 10.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. On March 7, 2016, Ere signed with Capitanes de Arecibo for the 2016 BSN season. On September 2, 2016, Ere signed with French club SLUC Nancy Basket for the 2016–17 season. On January 17, 2018, Ere signed with Defensor Sporting Club of the

Liga Uruguaya de Basketball Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

.Defensor lands Ebi Ere
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National team career

Ere was among those selected to play for the Nigerian national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. He scored a total of 67 points (average of 11.2ppg in six games), which was third behind Gabe Muoneke and Ime Udoka.Ebi Ere's profile – FIBA.com
/ref> In 2009, Ere competed for Nigeria at the FIBA Africa Championship where he averaged 11.3 points in seven games.