UEL alumnus inspiring the next generation in basketball

Dzaflo Larkai is a fascinating person to meet and interview. His wide-ranging career and life journey inspires and motivates, and he talks you through it in such a way that you want to pick up a basketball and shoot some hoops as soon as he’s finished talking.   

'Flo' as he is known to friends and family, started out with track and field and his highlights included being ranked #3 at County level in triple jump but inspired by his brother and standing 5ft 7ins at just 12 years old basketball very quickly became his passion and then his livelihood. 

We talked about his upbringing in Mitcham, his falling in love with basketball aged 12, Flo's professional career as a Power Forward/Centre, which saw him play for Great Britain and professionally in Spain, Japan, the USA and England, his Masters degree at UEL and his current role as an Assistant Coach at East London Sport, and for South Sudan Men's National Team. 

I loved the atmosphere of basketball, the training and my heroes were Grant Hill, Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) and Kobe (Kobe Bryant) and I had their posters on my wall. From the age of sixteen, I started to take the game seriously."

As his game and confidence grew so did Flo and standing at 6ft 8ins, Flo personally identified three key things he needed to become a success; determination, skill set and a good on court IQ.  

"You can be an incredibly gifted athlete but you have to translate that ability into a game to be successful." They are attributes he now brings to his coaching at East London Sport and South Sudan.

It was at the University of East London that through East London Sport’s strength & conditioning (S&C) coach, Duncan Ogilvie that Flo decided to do a Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Science in 2018. Flo said "The course was an eye-opener for me. I’d had S&C as part of my life as an athlete but I learned so much more on the course that really would have helped me with my own career, which I’m now using as a coach to help the East London Sport basketball team. 

"Aqua East, the S&C facility East London Sport was excellent as were the lifestyle sessions."

Flo passed his Masters with a distinction and his playing days came to an end in 2019 after returning from Japan two years earlier, by helping the London Lions to reach two BBL Finals. 

Flo’s career highlights on paper looks very impressive but which ones have meant the most to him? “The first practice with Bellarmine University (Louisville) was very emotional and playing for La Salle University. Both teams were excellent. Winning the championship in Japan in 2010 and making my debut for Great Britain in 2008 against Italy. Those are right up there and of course the two BBL finals with the London Lions. The spirit amongst the players there was one of the best I’d ever experienced.

All of these highlights were achieved during a 12-year career, which came to an end in 2019 and they go a long way to mitigating the serious injuries that Flo successfully overcame including a torn ACL and a stress fracture to his shin.