MBB head coach and 1986 NBA champion Sam Vincent will be with the Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) coaching staff for the Basketball Africa League playoffs (June 6-14).
South Africa's Made By Ball were eliminated in the BAL Nile Conference, leaving Vincent available for the temporary role with APR, joining them as defensive coach for the week.
Vincent, who won a NBA ring as a player with the Boston Celtics, intends to remain as MBB head coach and help build South Africa's grassroots basketball structures. The lack thereof proved an obstacle too great to overcome in Kigali, as MBB went 2-4 and were eliminated in the first round.
However, his team did show character and robustness in a 94-88 upset win over conference hosts APR. Although APR eventually qualified for the playoffs at MBB's expense, their head coach - James Maye - decided that Vincent would be an asset on their bench.
"I'm always wearing a lot of different hats, so I'm enjoying this connection with APR. I'm enjoying working with their coach and the organisation," former Charlotte Bobcats head coach and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Vincent told ESPN.
"I think, as I spoke with Coach [Maye] and talked about how this all came about, there was some appreciation for the progress with MBB and how the team performed. I think that showed, obviously, some abilities from a coaching staff standpoint to organise a team that was very competitive in its first year, won some tough games and had a chance to win others.
"I think that was recognised by James Maye as something that could be an addition to what APR is doing."
He added: "My plan at this point is to continue as MBB head coach. This [APR job] was an opportunity to obviously gain more experience of what the finals look like, the next level of competition. I'll be on the ground, in the games, doing the scouting, working with the team, so for me, it's even more preparation for how I continue to build the MBB team."
Maye and Vincent also bonded over a shared passion for using basketball as a development tool in Africa, as per Vincent - who first coached in South Africa in 1999, 13 years after winning his NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics.
Vincent said: "That [original conversation] led to further discussions into how we as coaches who have come from the NBA and the US can work together to support the development of basketball in Rwanda, in South Africa, and potentially in other areas around Africa.
"I think there's a real commitment to see the game grow, because we see the benefit it can be to kids around the continent."
Elaborating further on the development work he wants to participate in throughout South Africa, Vincent said: "There have very positive discussions with stakeholders in South Africa at the grassroots basketball level about creating some sort of development league.
"We can focus more on the critical needs of developing players versus just a professional league, which is for entertainment and high-level players. There's a real need for development and that goes for the top-level players, but it also goes for the grassroots-level players.
"So the interest is to create some sort of development league that will create games for the specific purpose of making sure that players are learning the right way to play, getting the right instructions and having some major international partnerships that can help facilitate that kind of league."
He added that there is potential for collaboration between Rwanda and South Africa in wheelchair basketball, saying: "[South Africa's] wheelchair team is very, very strong in the continent and I've had some good conversations with people in Rwanda - who are at the beginning stages of building their wheelchair organisation. This is just one of the types of support areas where there's interest in working together."
Vincent led South Africa to ninth place at the 2003 African Championships - their joint-best ever finish during a campaign which saw them post their best ever AfroBasket record to date (3-3). This time, his barometer for success will be different.
He said: "I will feel like my mission in South Africa is complete when there's a robust development league that's happening all around the country and kids are having a chance to play 30-40 games in this league, but that league is also a very strong component of development in the townships and at the schools level."
For now, his focus will turn back to the BAL, where APR will face defending champions Petro de Luanda for the fifth seed in the playoffs on June 7 at SunBet Arena. They will then face either US Monastir or Rivers Hoopers in the quarter-finals and from there on, it will be a straight knockout tournament until the final on June 14.
The BAL Playoffs and Final will air on ESPN's channels in Africa (DStv 218 and 219, Starsat 248) and affiliated partners.