THE CAMEROONIAN CONNECTION FLORIDA STAR NOAH ALSO HAS ROOTS IN AFRICA.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS - The Cameroonian flags at the RCA Dome • • [ for tonight's NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association championship game between Florida and UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX will not be for Joakim Noah Joakim Noah (pronunciation: /ˡdʒoʌkim/;<ref name=>Brady, Erik (2004-03-22). Star high school athlete becomes his own man. USA TODAY. Retrieved on 2007-02-27. . The coeds wearing baby blue T-shirts saying ``Cameroonian Crazies,'' will not be for him. No, those will be for UCLA's Cameroonian connection of freshmen forwards Alfred Aboya and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (born 9 September 1986 in Yaounde, Cameroon) is a 6' 8" Cameroonian basketball player who plays for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins in the Pacific Ten Conference of the NCAA. . But when Florida's star forward sees them, he will smile. Cameroon is more than just a hyphen hyphen: see punctuation. in his ethnic lineage. Last summer, with his confidence shot from a season spent languishing lan·guish intr.v. lan·guished, lan·guish·ing, lan·guish·es 1. To be or become weak or feeble; lose strength or vigor. 2. on the bench, that's where the French-Cameroonian-Swedish-American star knew he needed to go to get it back. As a freshman, he was an afterthought, two lousy minutes on ascoresheet, the guy at the end of the bench. But somehow, Noah knew this year would be different, that his role would change and his team would need him. So he headed home to clear his head. Not to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , where he went to high school. Or Paris, where he spent his childhood, and where his father, Yannick, the 1983 French Open champion, lived. But to Africa, for the first time in six years, to visit grandfather Zacharie. ``My roots,'' Noah said. ``Those are my roots. ``I knew that I needed to go back to Africa to clear my head. ...I really feel at home when I'm there.'' Mbah a Moute and Aboya said they knew all about Zacharie and Yannick Noah Yannick Noah (born May 18 1960, Sedan, Ardennes, France) is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. , but hadn't heard of Joakim until they arrived in America. Zacharie was a soccer player good enough to play for Cameroon in the French Cup in 1961. His residence in Cameroon's capital city, Yaounde, is a popular recreational park called Club Noah. ``Yeah, everybody went there,'' said Mbah a Moute, who grew up just outside Yaounde. ``His family is real big back at home. His grandfather is very cool.'' In Cameroon, they're just learning about basketball. Aboya said soccer, volleyball and handball handball Any of a variety games in which a small rubber ball is struck against a wall with the hand or fist. It can be played in a three- or four-walled court or against a single wall by two or four players (in singles or doubles games, respectively). are more popular. So when Noah went back to Cameroon, they didn't know him as a basketball player in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . They didn't trip all over themselves because of his famous father. No, when he went back, grandpa was the star. ``I love him to death,'' Noah said of his grandfather. ``He's the man back there. His girlfriend is like 30 years old. He goes to clubs all the time and he shines on the dance floor. I could barely keep up.'' Basketball still is growing on Yannick Noah. It's even more foreign to Zacharie. But all of the Noah men seem to understand championships. Tonight, Joakim will try to add to the family's trophy case. Yannick will be in the stands, along with Joakim's mother, the former Miss Sweden Cecilia Rodhe, his uncle and his grandmother. Yannick, who has gone on to become a popular reggae singer, has only seen his son play a few times and he's still getting used to the role of anxious father. ``It's tough to watch because you feel so helpless,'' he said. ``You can't help your son. ... It was painful (to watch Saturday's victory over George Mason) and they won. Imagine how it would be if they lost.'' Joakim finds his father's stress amusing. ``It's the first time in his life he can't control what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. on the court,'' Joakim said. ``Sometimes it's like, 'Dad, chill out, drink a couple of beers and just watch the game.' '' His grandfather has only seen him play once, when Joakim scored a career-high 37 points in a victory against Georgia on March 1 in Gainesville, Fla. Zacharie flew in from Cameroon to be there, meeting up with Yannick in Paris to make the last part of the journey together. He had promised his grandson he would come to see him play when Joakim visited him last June. It seems fitting that Yannick and Zacharie would be chasing Joakim around the world now, since he spent his childhood chasing them. All three generations have been asked countless times if they felt pressure because of those who came before them. Saturday night, after he watched Joakim and the Gators defeat George Mason, Yannick was asked about that dynamic again. ``I did well in tennis, what, 20 years ago?'' he joked. ``I don't think it has to affect my son. I don't think it's a pressure. If anything, it gives him motivation to do his own thing. ``And, you know, what a beautiful problem to have.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 13 photos, box Photo: (1) Florida's Joakim Noah has a family history of athletic success that starts with grandfather Zacharie, a former soccer star. Andy Lyons/Getty Images (2) FARMAR (3) GREEN (4) AFFLALO (5) HUMPHREY (6) BOZEMAN (7) BREWER (8) MBAH A MOUTE (9) NOAH (10) HOLLINS (11) HORFORD (12) BEN HOWLAND (13) BILLY DONOVAN Box: UCLA VS. FLORIDA - Brian Dohn |
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