From Africa to March Madness

A chance 'nobody expected' : Burundi-born player honed skills in Montreal 
after leaving life of luxury.

Charlie Gillis
National Post (Canada)
March 14, 2002

The annual run to the NCAA basketball final has long been a factory of heartbreak and triumph - tales of players and teams battling adversity that, over time, form the mythology of a grand old tournament.

But seldom do those stories involve the fortunes of non-Americans, much less an immigrant kid from French Canada.

That changed on Tuesday, after Prosper Karangwa, a Burundi-born point guard who grew up in Montreal, scored 31 points to lift his lowly rated Siena College Saints to an 81-77 victory over Alcorn State.

Not only did the performance clinch the final berth for Mr. Karangwa's tiny, upstate New York college in the prestigious National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, it has cemented his status as Canada's top prospect in the sport.

"I've been in the Atlantic 10, the Big East, the Big 12 and I've coached a couple of players who are currently in the NBA," said Mr. Karangwa's coach, Rob Lanier, in an interview yesterday.

"Prosper's the most talented kid I've ever coached."

For Mr. Karangwa, such praise is the fruit of a long, remarkable journey -one he never imagined would land him in March Madness, America's springtime celebration of amateur basketball.

Born into a wealthy family in 1978, he moved at the age of nine to Montreal, leaving behind a life of relative luxury in central Africa. His father had been a prestigious chemist with impeccable government contacts and his mother a senior nurse. But both wanted better education for Prosper than Burundi or neighbouring Rwanda could offer.

The adjustment was hard, as the family moved into a one-bedroom apartment in St. Leonard, a middle-class neighbourhood in Montreal's north end. Mr. Karangwa's father struggled to get recognition for his credentials, while his mother, Antoinette, sought work in area hospitals.

"My dad didn't take it well," he said in an interview from Dayton, Ohio, the site of Tuesday's triumph. "When we got to Canada, he had to go back to school and work as a substitute teacher. He was used to being a department head back in Africa. It was definitely tough."

His father has since returned to Rwanda to lecture at a university.

As a teenager, Prosper found refuge on the asphalt courts of St. Leonard, where basketball has been competing with hockey for the attention of young men since the early 1990s.

Within a few of years, he was transforming his skills into athletic art: Coaches in Quebec's high-school and CEGEP circuits recall the gangly guard whose deft shooting and masterful pass-selection invited comparisons to proven professionals such as Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway.

In the fall of 1998, after averaging 20 points a game with Dawson College, his CEGEP team in Quebec, Mr. Karangwa accepted an athletic scholarship from Siena, whose location in upstate New York would keep him close to his family in Montreal.

By then 6-foot-7 and gaining weight, he cut a daunting figure on the hardwood. The college's coach at the time, Paul Hewitt, had seen him playing in a U.S. summer league, and was determined to land Mr. Karangwa because of his stunning natural skills.

It has not been an entirely smooth college career: Now in his junior year, Mr. Karangwa has seen two coaches leave the school and has been at odds at times with Mr. Lanier, who maintains he is tougher on Prosper because of his potential.

"When you have a player of his ability, when you know you're on to something special, you demand a certain level of performance out of him," Mr. Lanier said. "He's obviously capable of doing some special things that as a coach I can't take credit for."

However, Mr. Karangwa has performed consistently in his last five games, grabbing attention from scouts and coaches across the U.S., who have begun calling Siena for details.

His televised performance on Tuesday included a critical three-point shot with 2:07 remaining, which gave the Saints the lead for the rest of the game and drew kudos from former player and ESPN analyst Len Elmore.

He has also enjoyed exposure to top-flight players in international ball after being named in 2000 to the Canadian men's national team, where he formed an immediate bond with fellow Canadian Steve Nash.

Mr. Nash, the Dallas Mavericks star who grew up in Victoria, B.C., has stayed in touch with Mr. Karangwa, frequently offering advice and support as the young guard navigates his way through the college system.

"I've spoken to him about three times this year, at times when I was struggling a bit," Mr. Karangwa says. "He e-mailed me before the tournament wishing me luck, telling me to prepare well and play hard. I'll probably talk to him when I get back to the hotel today."

Jay Triano, coach of the national team, has been impressed with the guard's improvement, saying a pro career in the National Basketball Association is now within his reach.

"He's got a huge upside, and we saw that last year," Mr. Triano says. "He turned out to be a good scorer for us last year at the qualifiers for the [world championship]. He and Steve Nash connected on the floor.

"I'm glad to see him playing so well."

While Mr. Karangwa confirms that he has sights on the NBA (he is eligible to be drafted next year), he tempers his ambitions with recognition of his faults, pointing out his need for greater physical strength if he wishes to battle the towering, hulking NBA pros.

He also has his eyes firmly set on Friday, when the Saints play the powerhouse University of Maryland, an East Division powerhouse whom analysts rank in the nation's top four.

It is a game professional scouts will certainly watch with keen interest in the young Canadian.

"It's just good to finally play the way I'm capable of playing and for the team to be winning," he says as he prepares to board a flight for Washington, D.C., where the game will be played.

"Nobody expected us to be where we are right now, and nobody gave us a chance in any of the games we've been playing. I'm just riding the wave right now and enjoying every moment."

cgillis@nationalpost.com