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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.”
The 26-year-old is going into his fifth season for the Brampton Honey Badgers.
Grassroots of 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 Greater Toronto Area and NBA players like Tristian Thompson and Andrew Wiggins around the community centre gym kept youth like Oduro focused on getting “one per cent,” better every day.
“These guys are so good and passionate. They had all the pictures and trophies of the guys that came through that gym.” Oduro told CBC sports, “Just seeing these types of guys that look like you and doing these great things is just inspiring, especially at a young age.”
For Oduro, that grassroots culture is still prevalent today in the CEBL. As a pro, Oduro plays in front of his family and friends and still competes against players he grew up with.
“You even have NBA players that I grew up playing against, coming back to watch CEBL games. So, it’s a great thing,” he said.
Beyond the game
Off the court, Oduro has another outlet: poetry.
Growing up, Oduro wasn’t the most attentive student in school. However, when his teacher introduced an assignment to write a poem, that’s where Oduro started to develop his creative outlet.
“I wrote about the brown bricks in my neighbourhood,” he said.
That assignment caught the attention of his teacher. She pulled him aside after class to offer some words of encouragement that really stuck with Oduro.
Oduro’s passion for poetry is still present today, on school visits he will read a poem he wrote about basketball to the students.
The 2026 CEBL season begins on May 9. and will stream on CBC and CBC Gem.
Full circle moment
Oduro was a part of the Honey badgers team that won a championship during the 2022 season.
General manager Jermaine Anderson spoke of the importance of having a player like Oduro be a part of the organization.
“He came in, worked his butt off, and he ended up starting a number of games for us and helped us win a championship,” Anderson said. “Now he’s not only a player but an ambassador for our organization and the community.”
Winning another championship is something Oduro strives for, but further growth as a person and pro with Brampton is also what he wants to accomplish this season.
“So, I’m just trying to be more in the moment, be grateful for what I have here,” he said. “The basketball doesn’t bounce forever.”
Oduro and the Honey Badgers begin their season on May 15 when they host the Ottawa BlackJacks, which will be live streamed on CBC Sports.
In one of his poems, Prince describes himself as a boy that carried his basketball everywhere.
“I used to take my basketball everywhere,” he said. “Now, basketball’s taking me everywhere.”
And now it’s taken him right back to where he started.
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