After University at Buffalo men's basketball practice, as other players are getting up additional shots, working on free throws or heading to the locker room, Ikenna Smart cradles a basketball in his foot, juggling it between his feet like a soccer ball. At 6-foot-10 he guides the ball back-and-forth and back-and-forth, his rhythm smooth and in control as the basketball cooperates with his directions.
Growing up in Nigeria, the Bulls' center played soccer from a very young age -- almost as soon as he could walk. Like the majority of countries across the globe, soccer is the most popular sport in Nigeria and being an elite athlete meant that Smart picked it up easily.