UM BASKETBALL
African trip an eye-opener for UM's Gamble
After a trip to Africa, Julian Gamble gained playing experience and an appreciation of the people.
Posted on Tue, Jul. 15, 2008
BY MANNY NAVARRO
In need of a break from the poverty, desperation and sadness around him, Julian Gamble sought to escape back into a world much more familiar to him and other American college basketball players who were far from home in June.
So, Gamble stepped outside into the blazing African heat, reached into his pocket for a bag of Skittles and popped one into his mouth before closing his eyes. When he opened them, the same sad set of eyes that forced the 6-9, 240-pound University of Miami center out of a Senegalese orphanage were staring up at him again. Only this time, the skinny, sick and starving 5-year-old boy had his hands open.
''You know how candy can make a kid real happy? Imagine what giving some Skittles to a boy who has never seen it before is like,'' Gamble said. ``He got so happy. We just started playing and running around, playing catch. It warmed my heart a lot to give him that, to make him smile.''
Turns out, the 19-year-old redshirt freshman from Raleigh, N.C., had plenty of heartwarming experiences during his two-week trip to Senegal and Mali as a member of a team put together by Athletes in Action, a Christian sports ministry group that uses athletics to spread humanitarian aid and the faith.
Gamble, who is expected to be one of four post players in UM coach Frank Haith's frontcourt rotation this season, got to play at the collegiate level for the first time on the trip. He had eight points and 12 rebounds in one of his first games and later stood toe-to-toe with a 7-5 center from Mali while teaming up with players from Kentucky, Valparaiso, Murray State, St. Mary's, Belmont and other schools.
''The competition was great for me,'' Gamble said. ``For the first time really in my life, I got to play against guys who were bigger than me. [Kentucky center] Jared Carter is 7-2. At first, in practice, he was swatting my shots.
``But I learned to use my body in different ways, use different moves and things like that and I started doing some things.''
`ALWAYS HAPPY'
But ultimately, Gamble said, it's the moments off the court he will savor most. Players visited schoolhouses that had no doors and were coated with dirt from floor to ceiling, played against opponents whose numbers were falling off their jerseys and played in an arena where bats soared above the court. Shoes collected from college teammates were donated, along with clothing and dental supplies.
''The one thing I came back and told coach and Jimmy about was just the demeanor of the people,'' Gamble said of Haith and UM teammate Jimmy Graham. ``They don't have nearly as many things as we do and they are still always happy. These people lived in cement houses with no doors in hot places, cooked their food with what little grease they had and used everything they had to the fullest. Yet, when guests came through like us, they always offered their best. The trip definitely opened my eyes.''
Gamble had his own financial struggles growing up with his single mother. He said he moved often during his youth and attended 14 schools before finally settling at Southern Durham High, the same school that produced former Canes center Anthony King. Gamble was rated the 27th-best center in the Class of 2007 by Scout.com, and he picked UM over Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida.
LOST WEIGHT
He has lost nearly 30 pounds after arriving at UM last fall. Haith said in April he is optimistic about what Gamble can add to the team next season as a true back-to-the-basket post presence.
''My role this year will be trying to be as reliable a post player as possible, doing what I can do to help the team like grabbing rebounds, blocking shots and taking charges so we win,'' Gamble said.
Miami returns four starters from last season's 23-11 team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and has been ranked as high as eighth in the preseason by ESPN basketball analyst Andy Katz.
Gamble said he and his teammates are very excited about the upcoming season. It opens with a trip to the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands and features out-of-conference showdowns at Kentucky and against Ohio State.
Gamble said he already is looking forward to next summer and another possible adventure with Athletes in Action. Last summer, Hurricanes forward Brian Asbury visited China with AIA and Graham made a trip to Australia.
''I definitely am interested in going somewhere with them again,'' Gamble said. ``It's an amazing experience.''
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