In these troubling times when many of us are watching the stock market jump all over the place and employees are getting laid off/furloughed, there is a greater need than ever for someone to tell us how to hold onto our money. In the case of the Charlotte basketball team they can turn to grad transfer Amidou Bamba, who has a 4.00 GPA while getting his MBA. He started his college career at Coastal Carolina and is finishing it with the 49ers, where his team won 10 of its 1st 15 games before learning that the C-USA tourney was canceled last week. Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Amidou about winning a gold meal and the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball.
photo credit: Sam Roberts
You were born in Toronto: how did you 1st get into basketball? When I was younger I played Raptor Ball at the YMCA. Vince Carter was a big influence up there so the Raptors were really big culturally.
You began your college career at Coastal Carolina with Coach Cliff Ellis: what makes him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? His experience made him the coach that he is. After coaching for 40 years he has such great wisdom about the game: I really learned basketball from him.
Why did you decide to transfer to Charlotte? There were 3 main reasons. Mainly I was trying to put myself in a position to make professional connections in a big city where I wanted to be for the long-term. I looked at several cities including Charlotte/Houston/Boston. Charlotte is the 2nd-largest financial center in the country, which seems like a good fit for me. I was also looking for a different basketball experience to see if things would be more beneficial to me at a different program.
In 2017 you won a gold medal with the Canadian U19 national team at the FIBA World Cup in Egypt: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and which of your teammates impressed you the most (RJ Barrett/Lindell Wigginton/other)? That was my 1st-ever experience with the national team after trying out and not making it for several years. It was such an important milestone for the country and was a massive turning point for Canadian basketball. RJ impressed me the most: we played team USA in the semifinals and he scored 38 PTS before fouling out. I had never played with him before but to do something like that at age 17 was so amazing to see. Lindell was battling a concussion at the time and was kind of limited but was still very impressive, as was everyone on that team.
In January of 2018 you scored a career-high 18 PTS/8-10 FG in 22 minutes off the bench during a 10-PT win over Little Rock: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes. I did not play with a chip on my shoulder but definitely had an edge and I felt that every shot I took was a good shot. My teammates got me in the right spots and I was able to exploit the way that Little Rock was defending us inside.
Your favorite pro team is the Toronto Raptors: what did it mean to you see them win the NBA title last summer? It was huge! There is no ill-will toward Kawhi Leonard after he decided to leave the following season: he played 1 year for us and brought us a championship. Everyone was a Raptors fan that summer as we all came together to celebrate a huge moment in our country’s history.
You finished your career as a 57.3% FG shooter: what is the key to being a good shooter? A lot of repetition: I think of myself as having a patented left-hand hook. Every day Cliff taught me to shoot 40 hooks before practice. When you put shots up constantly in the gym and know when to take those shots by assessing the situation it helps you make a lot of shots. You should not go out of your element.
Earlier this month you were named an Academic All-American for the 2nd straight year: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Time management for sure. I have always excelled academically so it just came down to budgeting time for each thing. I try to go the extra mile for basketball when I am on the court and go the extra mile for academics when I am off the court. I try to not put things off or waste time so that I can do everything at a high level: you cannot dedicate all of your time to just 1 thing.
You got a degree in finance at Coastal Carolina and have a 4.00 GPA while working on your MBA: why did you choose business, and what is the post-graduation plan? I was originally a biochemistry major and wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon. I want to help people improve their current situation and took that desire to finance because I have always liked the business world and am good with numbers. I started to realize that the best way for me to help people was via financial planning so that I can help people gain some financial stability. It was natural for me to go into the business world because I always had a knack for understanding money.
Any thoughts on the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball this month? From a collegiate standpoint it is very tough. The virus has far-reaching ramifications: the seniors who wanted to boost their draft stock, the players who had 1 opportunity to make the NCAA tourney, etc. You feel like you have unfinished business but do not have the chance to redeem yourself. Even for the younger players who did not get to complete their season it is tough. It is heartbreaking for coaches who worked an entire season with their players: we become like family and there is no way to get that back. From a fan standpoint you become so invested in these programs and then it hurts to see everything get stripped away. There were people who had already made travel plans to watch more basketball, and then to have it taken away made it difficult on them. I think it was the right/prudent decision to mitigate the circumstances…but it is never easy to come to terms with it. Some spring athletes just started their season before everything got canceled. As a family of athletes it helps that we are all going through it together. I think as a community going through it together it helps in a sense, although it is never easy. I hope this can be contained in the near-future so that something like this never happens again.