Africa-Press – Rwanda. American guard Obadiah Noel is already becoming a household name in African basketball as he continues to write history in the colors of APR.
Many APR fans have given him a new nickname ‘Mutabazi,’ loosely translated as the savior, courtesy if his famous clutch shots which have most of the time, change the whole game.
APR were on the brink of elimination from the Nile Conference before Noel took a risk and made a clutch three-pointer that not only sent thousands inside the BK Arena in wild celebration but also carried the army side to BAL playoffs in Pretoria, South Africa, in June.
And it wasn’t his first time showing up in clutch moments. Previously, in the fourth edition of BAL, APR were trialing Tunisia’s US Monastir 78-75 before Noel shot a three-point buzzer-beater to even the scores 78:78 late in the final quarter. APR later took home their first victory in the Sahara Conference with 89-84.
But who is Noel?
The Son of Simeon and Lavern Noel, Obadiah was born on June 28,1999 in Maryland, U.S. He began his high school career at Saint John Catholic prep. For senior season, Noel transferred to Tuscarora High school, where he dropped 22.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Noel committed to playing college basketball at UMass Lowell, the only team to offer him a scholarship, as a freshman coming off the bench, he averaged 6.5 points per game. Later at time he averaged 14.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game after being named to the America East All-Rookie Team.
He first declared for the 2020 NBA draft but ultimately withdrew and returned to UMass Lowell, where he had a challenging season due to an undisclosed injury. After he recovered, he returned to the America East tournament as a senior, where he averaged 21.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Noel became the second River Hawk to surpass 1,500 points during the Division 1 era. Following the incredible season, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing the additional season of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starting his professional career
Noel attended the Tampa Bay Pro Combine in preparation for the draft, He was named to the All-Combine team after averaging 14 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Although he went undrafted, he joined the Canadian professional basketball team in NBA G-league, Raptors 905 in November 202, later he was waived to Westchester Knicks due to his hard work in August 2023, he signed to the NBA team, New york Nicks with two-way contracts.
Later in 2024, he and Egyptian center Abdullah Ahmed joined APR at the time they were representing Rwanda at BAL 2024.
Noel wasn’t lucky enough to finish that edition due to the hamstring injury, which was followed by another injury that affected the Achilles tendon of club’s point guard Adonis Filer. This incident led to an unprecedented elimination of APR from the Sahara Conference after losing to Senegalese side AS Douanes 79-54.
He had no choice but to return to the US to start his injury rehab. But he knew he already knew he had an unfinished business with APR.
He felt he owed something to the club supporters until he delivered them a ticket to the playoffs. He will now travel with the club for the finals in Pretoria with a new, though tough, mission: the win the championship.
Before returning to APR, for the fifth edition of BAL, the American point guard passed through Tanzanian powerhouse Dar City basketball club which finished in third place in the 2025 Basketball Genocide Memorial Tournament.
Another angle of Noel’s cluth three-point shot which won APR the game over NCT on Sunday, May 25-courtesy
APR players pour water on Noel after his clutch three-pointer sent them to BAL playoffs-courtesy
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