For Miye Oni, the opportunity to represent Nigeria was more than the thrill of competing at the Olympic Games. It was about family.
 
"My mother was born there, the country my father has lived in. I've been there," Oni told Colin Udoh for ESPN.com. "It means a lot to me and my family, that we carry that pride everywhere we go. So just being able to represent this country, with all this rich history, and really try to make this country proud, means a lot to me."
 
Oni certainly represented Nigeria very well. He saw significant minutes when Nigeria upset Team USA in an exhibition game prior to the start of the Games and then appeared in all three games in Tokyo, averaging 21.8 minutes which was second on the team. Against Germany, he was 5-of-6 from three-point range and finished with 15 points. Nigeria, though, failed to advance past the preliminary round.
 
Nevertheless, Oni was thrilled to be able to honor his parents.
 
"They were really proud. It's important to them," Oni told ESPN.com. "They always teach me about Nigerian culture and everything like that. It's been important to them and something I dreamed of."
 
Now Oni will turn his attention toward getting ready for his third season with the NBA's Utah Jazz.
 
Oni enjoyed a remarkable career at Yale, finishing 10th in school history with 1,308 career points, fourth all-time with 174 three-pointers, sixth with 91 blocks and 10th with 287 assists. He became the third Bulldog to be named the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2019 after finishing among the league leaders in virtually every statistical category, including scoring (3rd, 17.1 ppg.), assists (3rd, 3.6 per game), free throw percentage (3rd, .793), assist/turnover ratio (3rd, 1.4), three-point field goals made (5th, 1.9 per game), blocks (t-6th, 1.3 per game) and rebounding (9th, 6.3 rpg.). In addition, he was a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection in both 2018 and 2019.
 
In 2018-19, Oni helped lead Yale to both the Ivy League regular season and tournament titles before nearly upsetting LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
He was the first Bulldog to compete in the Olympic men's basketball tournament.