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While the main goal of most college basketball players is to play in the NBA, most don’t reach that destination.
However, the passion for the sport doesn’t die and some will travel around the world to play.
That describes former Florida Atlantic guard Adonis Filer.
Filer currently plays for the Rwanda Energy Group (R.E.G) in the Basketball African League (BAL). He and his teammates open the BAL Playoffs Saturday with a quarterfinal game against Cameroon’s Forces Armées at Police in Kigali, Rwanda. The game tips off at 2 p.m. EDT.
“I feel like with any young basketball player that is motivated, their first goal is to make it to the NBA,” Filer told the Palm Beach Post. “And you know, you strive to get there and if you don’t make it you work with what you have, and I’m appreciative and grateful for where I am now.”
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The BAL is a new professional pan-African basketball league operated by the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) that features 12 club teams from across Africa.
Filer, a Chicago native, spent his first two years of college at Clemson before transferring to FAU in 2015 in a much expanded role.
Filer said that his tenure at FAU was a time of reflecting and learning he’s thankful for the people who helped him along the way, including former Owls basketball coach Michael Curry and assistant coach Eric Snow. They helped him learn to play point guard on the college level.
“I was kind of raw at that position,” Filer said. “Of course, I would have liked to win more games and be more successful in that aspect, but I took it for what it was and it was a great learning experience. FAU was very great to me. I will always be grateful for being able to attend FAU and graduate from there.”
Part of that “learning experience” that Filer emphasized, which has led him to professional basketball in Africa, was way more than just his physical abilities.
“I improved on the mental aspect, everything that comes with being a point guard,” Filer said. “Just putting the team first, being 15 minutes or 30 minutes early to every meeting, practices, film sessions, and everything else. Everything off the court really was a big key for me.”
The Owls went 18-45 from 2015-17. But, Filer sees that as more to learn from than anything and praises the FAU staff and the bonds made.
Seven years later, Filer is still in contact with former coaches and teammates such as former guards Gerdarius Troutman and Justin Massey, and forward Jeantal Cylla. He said he still has a great relationship with Curry and keeps in touch with all of his past teammates through social media.
At FAU, he started all 32 games in his first season when he averaged 10.3 points per game. In his redshirt senior season, he averaged 10.8 points per game, which led the team in scoring despite coming off the bench.
While Filer is finding a ton of success in Africa with R.E.G., he said it was an up-and-down journey to get to where he is at the moment, taking trips to Bulgaria and Mexico to play basketball.
“Any guy that plays overseas basketball, it’s a constant grind,” he said. “It was a lot. I started off pretty well in my rookie year, but I got injured towards the end. Went to Bulgaria still kind of recovering from my injury and had some problems there.
“Went to Mexico and now I’ve been (in Africa) for the past two and a half years even though it’s been kind of under the radar, playing in the local league since the (COVID) pandemic began.”
According to Filer, he never received any pushback from his family traveling across the world and said they were supportive from day one since they knew their son’s dream.
Filer is one of the team’s top players as he’s averaging 12.6 points per game and leads the team in assists with 9.2 per game.
Filer never thought of playing professional basketball in Africa, but stresses that he puts his faith with God. This path has led him to different walks of life and said the one big thing he learned from his time around the globe is patience.
“Everything will happen in its own time. As long as you put in your work, you’re doing right by yourself, and you’re respecting the game of basketball, you just have to stay patient and your time will come,” he said. “And if it doesn’t come then like I said, it’s not God’s plan.
“I just focused on putting in the work and not really paying attention to anything on the outside or what’s happening with other players or in other leagues, I just focused on myself, the game of basketball, and let God guide me in whichever way he wants to.”
In terms of the future, Adonis is not thinking ahead in terms of other leagues or a hopeful NBA call. What he wanted to do was play basketball as a professional and that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“For me in the future, it’s really just playing basketball and praying that God keeps me healthy so I could play and keep preparing to play the game that I love and hopefully reaching the highest possible level to play,” Filer said. “I really love basketball and God will guide me in the right direction. He knows my heart. He knows what I love to do, and I put all my trust and belief in him.”
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