Souleymane Wane, sadly, has never kept a diary. A manuscript based on his life, which began on the westernmost tip of Africa three decades ago, would make the most skeptical literary agent drool.
"I look back," Wane said, "and I wish I could write everything down."
His memories may not be kept in a padlocked notebook, but they're easily retrievable. Whether it's a basketball-crazy teenager asking if he really knows Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin, or his entire class asking if his late father really had two wives, Wane is always quick to respond. The answer to both questions, by the way, is yes.
Surprised? Wane's life is full of astonishing details. Haverhill High is the latest stop on the 33-year-old's journey. A 6-foot-11 native of…show more content… Ten years ago, Souleymane Wane (pronounced SOO-lee-mahn Wahn) was a member of UConn's first NCAA championship team. Since then, he's played professionally in Europe, married his college sweetheart Deborah (who's from Dracut), become a father and landed here, in classroom M20, where he occasionally shares his story with students.
Wane has come long way — literally thousands of miles — to get to this point.
"It's been a wonderful journey with Souley," Dr. Ted Taigen, Wane's academic advisor at UConn, said. "Where to…show more content… during the week to make pound cake that his teammates sold at local malls to raise tuition money. Because his English skills were basic at best, he couldn't join in. Then, as if attending a Christian school as a Muslim immigrant was difficult enough, Wane had to deal with college coaches.
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Georgetown and UConn were all interested. He had no idea which way to go. He was only able to call home about once a month to seek counsel. Plus, the recruiting process was a completely foreign concept to both Wane and his family. A visit with coach Jim Calhoun did help Wane pick UConn, but that didn't exactly settle his nerves.
"I didn't know what to choose," Wane said. "I didn't know what's what."
Wane's first few months in Storrs, Conn., in the fall of 1996, were not idyllic. Before he enrolled at the University, he worked to bump up his SAT score.
He spent his nights studying. But in order to pay for the room he rented near campus, Wane worked days at a sheet metal factory in Willimantic. Unable to afford a car, he pedaled an old bicycle to his job and to the library.
"My first six months at UConn," Wane said, "I didn't know
