I knew it was a big thing, but I never like I traditionally watched the whole Final Four, or watched the whole thing, Thamba said. Deuce Vaughn Selected No. Let go get a third-straight Big 12 title and another national championship.. His absence that season created an opportunity for Thamba, who averaged 15.2 minutes in the first 11 games following Clarks injury. A CDC article in July 2015 notes that Levi had 7.2 ng/mL of THC; the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Colorado is 5.0 ng/mL. One of the cooler moments of this years tournament was when Flo Thamba got to play in front of his parents for the first time in his collegiate career, helping Baylor defeat Norfolk State in the opening round with 14 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block, and two steals. He was leading the country in field-goal percentage, and the offense went through him. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Kevin Durant moped. Thamba would end Thursday as one of five Baylor players to reach double-figures in scoring, shooting 7-of-9 from the field for 14 points in the victory against the Spartans. The team starts off 15-0, youre at the top of the mountain. On his other visit, Jakus didnt talk about basketball. He is a member of the BBWAA and PFWA. Just be yourself, everything will take care of it. Stoic is the word his coaches use. You can learn more about Pete by visiting his personal website: PeteMundo.com. He ran out of the room, tumbling over the railing in a hallway that overlooked the lobby, falling four floors to his death. Before his senior season, star teammate Oscar Tshiebwe, now at West Virginia, transferred and the program appeared to be in flux. Thamba said he found himself having a lot of motivation to play well, and he did, as he scored 14 points against Norfolk State. FORT WORTH, Texas It was business as usual for defending national champion Baylor Mens Basketball Thursday as the top-seeded Bears dispatched 16-seed Norfolk State in the NCAA Tournament, 85-49, to advance to the Round of 32. The principal took his phone and later that day his uncle showed up to pick him up at boarding school. Baylor Bears forward Flo Thamba (0) shoots over North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) during the first half of a second round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at. Something had happened. Thamba has the most Big 12 wins in program history (55) and is Baylor's all-time leader in both games played (114) and career wins (123). Theres no perfect way to deal with what (Thamba) went through., His former high school coach, Al Wilson, would talk him through it. The Baylor coaches know Thamba is loving the experience, because hes smiling more and talking. Just be yourself, everything will take care of it. And, yeah, (I) just went out there and just played. Is there anything better than cold beer and baseball? Thamba, who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, grew up in South Africa and also lived in England and France before coming to the United States. 4.9. He was the guy who actually was dedicated to me more than anybody else, because everybody else just thought it was more of an intramural thing I was just doing for fun. He said that older brother, Levy, later went to a community college in Wyoming to study engineering, but died in an accident after trying a legal marijuana edible during a spring break trip to Colorado in 2014. Flo's weight is 111 kg. Education was always the biggest priority in the Thamba household. As an athlete, saying big means championship, but thats just a little piece of metal. At the same time, (his return from injury) allows Flo and Jon both to compete harder and leave more out there and not worry as much about foul trouble because they have each other.. This page is not available in other languages. Kyle Newman is a sportswriter for The Denver Post, a position hes held since 2016. . ANALYSIS. Hometown: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo High School: Mountain Mission School School: Baylor (Men) More player info For the first time in his life, Thambas mother and father, Emmanual Thamba and Florentine Soko-Pongi, watched their son in a Bears uniform in person as Baylor looks to become the first repeat national champion since Florida won-back-to-back titles from 2006-07. He thinks about him often, and then he thinks about his father and the example he setthat you have to keep moving onto the next thing. Man, it actually worked for Freddie. Its basically just picking up on the same values, keep your head down and keep working and everything will come to fruition., Thamba now shares the center spot with Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, whom he has made better by sharing tricks he has learned on how to be a better screener and how to make reads in Baylors offense. The reason I had that in mind is because growing up in Congo, we had limited access to water in general. I just felt like it really meant something.. He just needed to see the vision and then allow the coaches to help him. Last season, he averaged career-highs in points (6.2), rebounds (5 . You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard. In the 2021 title game, Thamba had Drew Timme in his back pocket and he continued that defensive dominance. Naturally, when you get on the court that translates over. Thamba loves Wilson likes a second father. We knew we were going to lose eventually, no matter how much we were winning, there are going to be one or two games youre going to lose. Ojianwuna previously played for NBA Academy Africa as well as the NBA Global Academy before landing at Baylor. I want to make a difference in my culture, because I have an opportunity to do something big. From the outside, they always feel like its a one-man position, but in reality, were a two-headed snake.. Especially after the Villanova game where we just smacked them, I was like, Man, nothing can stop us now.. But those guards know they wouldnt be where they are without the interchangeable 245-pound post players: the 6-foot-10 junior Thamba and and 6-8 sophomore Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who earned the nickname Everyday Jon for his work ethic and nonstop energy since his arrival. When I spoke to them it was about how we have an opportunity to do something really good. But those guards know they wouldn't be where they are now without the often interchangeable 245-pound post players _ the 6-foot-10 Thamba and and 6-8 Tchamwa Tchatchoua. The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 6-7 season in 2023, the first under new head coach Brent About us: HCS is owned and operated by Pete Mundo. We have guys that bought into the whole program, we just would have been different. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. One stop at a time. "More so for my mom, she's always supported me in a lot of ways, just seeing her and the fruits of labor after being away from each other is so special. Thats all we had, Michelle Weiss-Samaras, a spokesperson for the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner, told Westword, a Denver-based publication, in 2015. With the support of my coaches, Im excited to return for a fifth season and continue working on my masters degree. Flo Thamba's parents are getting to watch him play in person for the first time in his college career. Those guys do a tremendous amount of things that go unnoticed on the stat sheet, Teague said. It's just like 'man we get to celebrate this thing together.'". A lot of teams, they play basketball and then go home and do their own things. That was about five years ago and far from the NCAA Final Four. Tchamwa Tchatchoua was born in Cameroon and spent two years at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, where he first played organized basketball. Complementing Thamba is another talented forward, redshirt senior Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. Posted on March 17, 2022. But those guards know they wouldnt be where they are without the interchangeable 245-pound post players: the 6-foot-10 junior Thamba and and 6-8 sophomore Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who earned the nickname Everyday Jon for his work ethic and nonstop energy since his arrival. As a sixth-grader in South Africa when just starting to learn how to dribble, Thamba had another older brother who would wait for hours after school to ride the bus home with him. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Here's the final tally on Russell Wilson trade between Broncos and Seahawks, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. For the first time in his life, Thamba's mother and father, Emmanual Thamba and Florentine Soko-Pongi, watched their son in a Bears uniform in person as Baylor looks to become the first repeat . Im focused on, I belong and I can do this.. You can be down 20 or in a tie game, and Thamba's expression isn . VividSeats. While Emma was in attendance for that game, travel issues prevented Emmanual and Florentine from being on hand at Ferrell Center, according to team officials. Keeler: Chris Paul got dirty. It's hard to gain trust with Flo Thamba. Let's talk about Flo Thamba. The Oklahoma Sooners are Big 12 softball champions, once again, after an 8-2 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday. But the thing that sticks with us the most was the togetherness we had. "If we give him one more [award ball] we won't have anymore to practice with," Drew quipped. [2] He committed to playing college basketball for Baylor over offers from Illinois, Virginia Tech and Nebraska. The other player who has not been the horse we expected defensively is Flo Thamba. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Thamba told reporters Wednesday ahead of the game, . He came into it with expectations that he was going to play and play a lot.. MORE: March Madness bracket 2023: Updated viewing details for Sweet 16, Elite Eight games The coaching staff as a whole, but for me the most important thing was my teammates. Flo Thamba, the winningest player in Baylor MBB history, talks about growing up overseas, helping develop the next generation of Bears, chasing another title, and most importantly photography We already have the chemistry, weve been together for some time. Baylor does a pairs shooting competition, and since Tchamwa Tchatchoua transferred from UNLV to Baylor in 2019, theyve been paired together and call themselves the African Connection., Thamba starts, but the minutes are split almost evenly . What are your plans for after college, what are you striving for? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. It required two surgeries and Tchamwa Tchatchoua didnt debut this season until Feb. 4, nearly a year after he was named the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. I was really emotional in that moment, he said. The team starts off 15-0, you're at the top of the mountain. Do you have a blog? [1] His older brother, Levy, fatally fell from a hotel balcony in 2014 after consuming a marijuana edible.[6]. The 6-10 forward, originally from Kinshasa, Congo, is coming off of his best year to date, averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. After last season, the process started to play out as it should. All-American junior Jared Butler and his backcourt mates Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague pretty much get all of the attention for top-seeded Baylor (26-2), which plays former Southwest Conference rival Houston in the first national semifinal game Saturday. You just take with you a part of everything you see and everything you experience.. That still hurt on its own, but when we lost the second game to Oklahoma State that was when we were like, Okay, whats going on? Tchamwa Tchatchoua was born in Cameroon and spent two years at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, where he first played organized basketball. (23-11, 3rd place in conference (Big 12), Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:49AM. He has worked at Bleacher Report as the sites national college basketball writer and also covered the sport for CBSSports.com and Basketball Prospectus. The police report, which didnt name Levi, said he was marijuana-naive. The coroner listed marijuana intoxication as a significant condition contributing to his death. He currently resides in Kansas City where he is a talk show host and program director at KCMO Talk Radio. Thats always been a goal of mine, Thamba says. C.J. A former three-star prospect out of Grundy (Va.) Mountain Mission School, Thamba signed with Baylor as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2018, per the 247Sports Composite Player Rankings. But, overall, it's just amazing having them around.. But for us, Im starting and then youre thinking, Okay the bench guy is coming in, but the bench guy is Jon and hes coming to dunk on you. '". (I) kind of shot two air balls in the warmup. As a sixth-grader in South Africa when just starting to learn how to dribble, Thamba had another older brother who would wait for hours after school to ride the bus home with him. "It's just a good feeling," Thamba told reporters Wednesday ahead of the game. I really didnt know what the Final Four meant before I even came to Baylor, he said. Everything is flowing; obviously we had some issues here and there, but everything was just clicking. Next season, what do you see from this team? 0 because Wilson identified that as a number of responsibility.
Buy or Sell Tickets. FORT WORTH, Texas Baylor forward Flo Thamba's parents saw him play for the Bears for the first time on Thursday at the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Los Angeles Chargers love themselves some TCU football. 2022-23 Big 12 Standings. But, I mean, obviously the hardest part, too, is like the fact that they don't really speak English, so my brother always has to be there to translate. What were the biggest factors? It would have been easy to resent his teammate, who two years ago was behind him in the pecking order. 212 by Dallas Cowboys in NFL Draft, Eric Gray Selected No. Thats pretty unique.. In some ways, this made the process more difficult for Thamba. He even considered it. Thamba is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and he grew up in South Africa, before he lived in England and France and emigrated to U.S. in 2014. "Baylor bigs: Flo, 'Everyday Jon' help make Bear guards great", "NCAA Final Four: Baylor's Thamba honed his skills at Grundy's Mountain Mission", "Flo Thamba's Path to Waco / How Baylor Was Built", "Men's College Basketball: Baylor's Flo Thamba takes to the big stage", "No. Flos been playing since he was a freshman. I know there is a lot of water embedded underneath the ground, but reaching it is relatively hard. Its usually pointed at them, but he wanted to have a conversation, not only for himself but all the other guys that were there.. Then one day that spring Flo was sitting in eighth-grade biology class, scrolling through Facebook and his brothers picture was everywhere. Thambas made 96 consecutive starts entering the tournament, and is averaging 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. Tchamwa Tchatchoua said at times he just sits down and thanks God for an amazing journey, and how things worked out to get him here. I always play aggressive and go out there and play to the best of my ability. The 6-10 forward, originally from Kinshasa, Congo, is coming off of his best year to date, averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. When the time came, I sat down with my family and said, Here are the possible outcomes and possible decisions, and I made my decision based on conversations I had with my parents and with the coaches. Before he injured his knee during Thambas freshman year, Clark had emerged as Baylors next star. He ended up at Northwest College, a junior college in Powell, Wyo. Levi had traveled to Denver with some new friends for a spring break trip. Flo Thamba nails the buzzer-beater. 10 Baylor rallies to beat No. Later, he woke up again and left the fourth-floor room and then returned, telling his friends, This is a sign from God that this has happened, that I cant control myself. His actual height is 6 feet and 10 inches. Flo Thamba goes up strong for the and-1. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. He gradually earned that trust. PTS. His friends calmed him down. I knew it was a big thing, but I never like I traditionally watched the whole Final Four, or watched the whole thing, Thamba said. Denae Fritz Announces Transfer from Iowa State to Baylor, Baylor Bears Womens Basketball 2023-24 Offseason Roster Tracker, Baylor Bears mens basketball 2023-24 offseason roster tracker, Baylor to Face Brady Manek, Tar Heels in NCAA Second Round, Saint Peters Overtime Win over Kentucky Upsets East Region.