International Focus Magazine Vol. 2, #10 | Page 48

“Now, I just got off the phone with
a friend of mine, someone you may
remember that’s an alumni of the
Rockets. He asked me in his lingo
the number one question is were you
traded or a free agent?” Answer: “I
wasn’t part of the trade. I signed here
& came here. I wasn’t traded. I know
people think I was traded though I
decided to come here. It’s a special
opportunity.
“I like the roster, I like the team, I
like the philosophy. A great coach
Mike (D’Antoni) and players like
James, and CP played with before
(both played for the LA Clippers for
years together & have just arrived in
Houston). I’ve always wanted to be in
an organization like the Rockets. I’m
blessed to be here. Look forward to
the opportunity.”
52 iF Magazine | November 2017
48
We began taking photos and while
giving him an iF logo mug, I also ex-
plained if he were in certain cultures
like the Chinese — which is our
next trade mission destination, by
the way — how they are in saluting
not above the rim of another when
showing honor or respect. I then
made sure my cup was level with his
or even a bow as we clanked for the
photo shoot. I asked if he were to
prefer coffee, tea, sake, beer, or wine
in his imaginary drink we are toast-
ing to and his answer was tea. With
that, we enjoyed envisioning a world
champion win with our sip of green
tea.
An excerpt from ESPN shedding
light on the Cameroonian basket-
ball players: Mbah a Moute’s coaching
clinics have sparked a new generation of
young basketball disciples eager to teach
the game. There’s a clear path now, cre-
ated by Mbah a Moute, taken by Embiid
and followed by Siakam. It can no longer
be argued that ‘nobody plays basketball in
Cameroon.’
With career milestones ranging from
2006 (including Sweet Layup, Phe-
nomenal Fresh, Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year) with many in between (in-
cluding Windy City Debut, Big City
Breakout, Making Waves,& Com-
plete Game) until 2011’s award called
All Over The Glass. For this new as-
set to our city’s basketball team, we
look forward to watching this leader’s
driven presence within his activities.