Amida Brimah eager to call Gampel Pavilion his new home

Nana Baafi had just got in a workout at an outdoor basketball court in Accra, capital city of the west African nation of Ghana. A graduate assistant coach at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, Baafi had returned to his native country looking for hoops talent.



And when he saw a 6-foot-10 teenager walking down the street, on his way to school, he just couldn’t resist.



“I pulled up to him, we had a conversation,” Baafi recalled. “He told me he played soccer. I told him, ‘Soccer’s not your field, you’re too tall from that.’ We took it from there.”



Since that morning a little over three years ago, Amida Brimah has taken his talents from the soccer fields of Ghana to the hardwood of southern Florida high schools and, starting next fall, Gampel Pavilion. No longer a striker, he’s now a 6-11 shot-swatter at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High in Miami who committed to the Huskies on Jan. 14 and could emerge as the latest in the program’s long line of dominant defensive big men.



“I know I’ll have a chance,” Brimah said. “I work hard, and I’ll be ready.”

Brimah averaged 15.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 7.2 blocks per game this season for Carroll, which was upset in the second round of the state playoffs last week. Triple-doubles were the norm as he routinely blocked 10 or more shots in games, including a 20-point, 21-rebound, 11-block night in Carroll’s playoff-opening win on Feb. 14.



“He’s got huge upside,” said Archbishop Carroll head coach Juan Hernandez. “Unlike some American kids who’ve been playing since they were little kids, he pretty much picked up the game four, five years ago. His ceiling is a lot higher than others. He’s got a huge motor, he’s an extremely enthusiastic kid. He works unbelievably hard.”



At about 215 pounds, Brimah knows he has to get stronger. With Carroll’s season recently over, he has just begun an offseason weight-lifting regimen, and his goal is to put on about 10-15 pounds by the time he arrives at UConn this summer.



With the Huskies in need of big men, both Brimah and fellow commit Kentan Facey, a 6-9 forward out of Long Island Lutheran High, could see major minutes right off the bat next season.



“He got a chance to see (for) himself, when they played Louisville … that he can definitely contribute and help them win,” Baafi said. “That’s what’s most important. They have great guards, and that helps him because he runs the floor well.”



Indeed, Brimah is excited about the Huskies’ prospects next season, but added, “I hope Shabazz (Napier) and (Ryan) Boatright stay.”

So do UConn fans everywhere.



ADAPTING TO A NEW HOME



Brimah now lives in Miami with Baafi, who is his legal guardian. Brimah’s parents, Birkisu and Pegrino Brimah, still live in Ghana and have yet to visit the States to see their son play. But leaving home for a new land hasn’t been too trying for Brimah. In fact, it’s very similar to Baafi’s own experience some 20 years earlier.



Baafi was born in Accra but, at age 16, came to the States to visit his sisters, who were living in the Bronx.



“I met a guy who said, ‘You’re 6-7, you should stay and play,’” Baafi recalled. “And I stayed.”



Baafi played at Roosevelt High in the Bronx, then a year at Monroe Junior College and at Texas State University before ending up at St. Thomas, where he stayed on as a graduate assistant.



Although leaving behind family for a foreign land at age 16 may seem extraordinary, it wasn’t too difficult for either Baafi or Brimah (who had just turned 16 when he first met Baafi).



“The way we’re raised, Africa’s kind of different,” Baafi explained. “The adjustment wasn’t really that hard. Out there, at that age, you’re considered a man. You’ve got to fight for yourself.”



“When you come out here,” he added, “it’s like heaven.”



And while Baafi had never met Brimah’s parents before approaching them about their son leaving for America, that didn’t turn out to be a major issue, either.

“They had a lot of trust in me,” Baafi said. “They kind of know me out there because I played basketball. They felt it was a great opportunity for Amida, knowing at that age, kids usually fend for themselves.”



Not that it wasn’t trying at times.



“It was tough,” Brimah recalled. “It wasn’t until I got here and had been here a few months that I started missing my family.”



Brimah originally went to West Lake Prep, but the school soon shut down its athletics program and he transferred to Monsignor Pace High. Brimah played there for a season, but afterwards, his coach stepped down, and he joined a host of his teammates in transferring.



He wound up at Carroll, where the family-type atmosphere has suited him perfectly.



“He’s adapting real well,” said Baafi. “Whatever he does, he always does the right things. He’s pretty smart enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. He adapts well. He’s not into bad company. That goes with the team. Everybody is family, they’re not bad kids, so that really helped.”



Brimah said he felt a similar atmosphere during his visit to UConn on in mid-January and committed before his visit was over.



“I love the environment (at UConn),” Brimah said. “Coach (Kevin) Ollie is a very family-oriented guy, and (there’s an emphasis) on education.”



Indeed, Brimah is a strong student who plans on studying hospitality management when he arrives in Storrs.



Brimah was recruited by numerous schools — Memphis, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Alabama, La Salle, Southern Mississippi — as well as nearby programs like Florida International and, more recently, resurgent Miami. He considered staying closer to his adopted hometown, but ultimately, the allure of UConn was too much to resist.



Especially for a kid who already left his family behind for a new country and culture at age 16.



“If he can come all the way from Ghana to here with no problem,” Baafi noted, “staying close to home was not a factor.”