{"id":38492,"date":"2017-10-16T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=38492"},"modified":"2021-02-08T09:34:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:34:12","slug":"from-england-to-sait-trojans-forward-julian-apakoh-a-real-hoops-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/16\/from-england-to-sait-trojans-forward-julian-apakoh-a-real-hoops-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"From England to SAIT, Trojans forward Julian Apakoh a real ‘hoops’ guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>rojans forward Julian Apakoh is pretty unique for a 22-year-old British basketball player.<\/p>\n

A<\/span>pakoh was living with his family in London, England when he first fell in love with the game of basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy older brother used to play,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got me into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up, Apakoh found inspiration and motivation from watching his brother on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe motivated me to work hard even when no ones watching,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo persevere in the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n

To this day, Apakoh\u2019s favourite part about playing basketball is the team aspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea of working hard with a group of guys, having each others back, and building relationships with teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a 6\u20193″ Power\/Small Forward, Apakoh believes he stands out from other players due to his athleticism and determination on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of guys aren\u2019t as quick as me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a pretty aggressive player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apakoh\u2019s personal goals when it comes to basketball include being a good teammate and always stopping the opposition from scoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to be as selfless as I can be,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry to be the best defender on the floor, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Apakoh, the biggest challenge of playing for the Trojans is taking part in the intense cardio workouts during practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conditioning is definitely tough because it\u2019s so high paced,\u201d said Apakoh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be pretty hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although a joker at times, Apakoh describes his mindset during practices and games as focused and down to business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019m serious but goofy at the same time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be a hot head, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

What sets Apakoh apart from most athletes in Calgary is the journey that brought him here.<\/p>\n

He moved from the U.K. when he was 16 years old to attend high school in Regina, where he earned a scholarship to play at SAIT.<\/p>\n

Because he was from London, Apakoh has always had an interest in soccer, especially in the form of video games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely good at FIFA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone wants to play me, challenge accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his spare time when he\u2019s not playing basketball, FIFA or studying, Apakoh enjoys watching anime and tennis.<\/p>\n

When asked about what he would be doing if he weren\u2019t playing basketball, Apakoh referred to an old hobby of his.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d maybe draw, I used to draw a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019d be playing a lot more video games too, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

While watching the NBA growing up, Apakoh became a fan of Paul George and the Indiana Pacers<\/a> due to their defensive efforts on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like a good defensive team,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mentality of the team and the emphasis on defence is just something I relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apakoh will continue working to improve his skills as the first game of the season quickly approaches.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Working Hard <\/strong>Trojans Forward Julian Apakoh takes part in practice and poses outside the SAIT Wellness Center on October 11th 2017. Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. (Photo by Jordan Squires\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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SAIT Trojans Power\/Small Forward Julian Apakoh has traveled a long way from where he started out. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":412,"featured_media":38554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S2 Julian Apakoh Feature","footnotes":""},"categories":[1581,23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sait-trojans","8":"category-sait-basketball","9":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/412"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38492"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40136,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38492\/revisions\/40136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}