| Success is bittersweet for Dalembert |
Samuel Dalembert watches the news on television, and the images strike him. The places are familiar. He sees pictures in the newspaper, pictures of fires and crying children and men with guns. He recognizes them -- maybe not explicitly, but there may be a street he knows, or a building, or a face that resembles one he knew in his youth. When he sees these things, he feels he must call his grandmother, Hyppomene Baptiste, the 72-year-old who raised him for the first 14 years of his life in a small house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Just to make sure she is all right. "Stop your worrying," she tells him. "I'm fine, I'm fine."
These should be happy days for Dalembert. Professionally, this year has been a breakthrough. He is just 22 and is having the most productive of his three years with the 76ers, getting a chance to be the starting center. Dalembert has been impressive in that role: He is averaging 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks when he starts. Dalembert missed all of last season with a knee injury that was supposed to keep him out for just two months. His comeback has been one of the best -- and most overlooked -- stories of the season. Considering he played only 177 minutes in his first two seasons, Dalembert should be a strong candidate for the league's most improved player award.
But these also are troubling days for Dalembert. It has been four years since he has been to Haiti, but he still considers it home. Now, he is watching his home burn, as a small rebel insurgency has gained momentum. Dalembert says he is accustomed to this. Haiti is no stranger to political unrest, and as a child, he remembers seeing "crazy stuff." (His voice trails as he says this; he does not want to explain what, exactly, constitutes crazy stuff.) What concerns Dalembert most is the plight of Baptiste, the woman he calls, "Ma."
He tries to check in with his grandmother at least once a day. Calling her can be excruciating. When she does not answer, Dalembert is tormented by the possibilities. "It is hard," Dalembert says. "I was really touched by it when we were in Denver. After the game I had to call her. But I could not get any communication. You never know what is happening. Finally, I got through, but every time that happens, it's hard."
Dalembert says he can separate the plight of Baptiste from his performance on the court, but his grandmother already has had a profound effect on his basketball career. When Dalembert was a sophomore at Seton Hall, his paternal grandmother died, and he returned to Haiti for the first time in six years. He was shocked by the poverty. It was the first time in six years he had seen his Ma, too, and she was suffering from hypertension. Her health was bad; Dalembert was disturbed.
Those conditions prompted Dalembert to leave Seton Hall after his sophomore season, though he was still very raw -- he didn't start playing basketball until after he moved from Haiti to Montreal, to be with his parents, at age 14. There was a good chance he would not be drafted in the first round, but he did not care. He was willing to go to Europe or toil in the developmental leagues, as long as he could get a paycheck to provide medicine for his grandmother. Dalembert admits he was lucky: The Sixers gambled on him with the 26th overall pick in the 2001 draft.
Now, the gamble is paying off. Dalembert has skill as a shot blocker, and that skill will improve as referees get to know him and allow him to get away with more contact. His offense mostly comes from putbacks, but he also can get out and run, even at 6-11. He's a consistent finisher on fast breaks on a team that generally is slow.
"He gives that team life," says an Eastern Conference scout. "He's the only young legs they have, and he moves so well. He's the best running big man in the game right now."
Though the problems in his homeland are causing him pain, Dalembert credits Haiti with developing his athletic gifts. He learned to become a fearless leaper on its trees and low roofs. With few indoor conveniences, he and his friends would play soccer for hours outdoors. "Because of that, I can run forever," he says. One of the country's big problems, in peacetime, is rabid, wild dogs. "That will teach you to run fast, too," Dalembert says, laughing. "If you don't know how to run, you will get bitten in the butt by one of the wild dogs. Then you're in big trouble."
Dalembert's laugh is a reminder that he is still a kid. The season has gone sour in Philadelphia -- the coach has been fired, there has been in-fighting and the team has underachieved. But Dalembert may be the one guy who knows there are much bigger concerns.
"Haiti is a situation where all I can do is keep praying," Dalembert says. "I can't change the situation. Here, I have basketball, and it's just a game. And games are fun, remember?"
Used courtesy of: The Sporting News |
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