KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The first thing a person will notice about Western Michigan senior men's basketball player Adida Ikongshul is he is always smiling.
And why not.
Here's a player who took so many community college courses as a senior in high school that when he walked in the door at WMU, he already had 18 credits. He's done a lot with that head start, too, being a two-time Mid-American Conference all-academic team member who will graduate in December with a degree in business. He's already been accepted into Western Michigan's MBA program.
''I don't think the kid is capable of being in a bad mood,'' WMU head coach Steve Hawkins said, with a smile of his own.
However, that smile could have disappeared many times while he was growing up in poverty in Nigeria. Or when his father passed away two months ago, and because of the political climate, Ikongshul was advised by several people in Nigeria to not come for the funeral because he might not get back into the United States.
''I had to choose saying goodbye to my Dad or staying here and working for my dreams,'' Ikongshul, better known as Dida, said. ''He was really excited about me getting my master's degree and now I can't even call him to tell him.
''There are three classes of people in Nigeria. There are rich families, medium class families and there are poor families. Sometimes you didn't know where your next meal would come from. You didn't have fancy clothes to dress in. It was pretty tough.''
Ikongshul knew there was something better out there for him, so the smiled stay. Basketball kept that smile going. As a youth, he started playing soccer, but soon found that he was taller – much taller – than others so he followed his sister onto the volleyball court. He's now 6-feet, 6-inches tall.
''I was pretty good at volleyball,'' he said with a laugh (he actually smiles and laughs all the time). ''I played on a church volleyball team and thought it was fun.
''There was a basketball court close to the court and they let me check it out. And here I am.''
Of course, there was a little thing – like, rules – that he had to understand.
''At first, everything I was doing was called traveling and I kept saying, 'What is traveling? I'm just trying to put the ball in the basket,' '' Ikongshul said. ''It took me a while and I finally realized I liked the game and stuck with it.''
Basketball, and his studies, proved to be a ticket out of Nigeria…in a roundabout way. A family friend in Canada called Dida's father, a retired military man, one day to ask if Dida would be interested in going to the United States to study and play basketball.
''My Dad said he had been praying for this all his life,'' Ikongshul said.
The only problem was an American family in Madison, Ind., had had a lot of complications with hosting a teenager from Africa, so they were thinking about adopting a three-year-old instead of hosting a teenager again.
''The American family (Michael and Leila Traylor) called and asked me why I wanted to come to the U.S. so bad,'' Ikongshul said. ''I said I'm from a poor family and I feel I have the potential to lift my family up out of this poverty and the U.S. would help me do that.
''They said I guess we're not adopting a three-year-old anymore. They said they were really impressed a 16-year-old would think that deeply. Two months later, I was on a plane to the U.S.''
It wasn't that easy to get out of Nigeria. His father gave Ikongshul all the money he had saved up so his son could get on a bus and go to the United States embassy to apply for a passport and visa. There are around 500 visa requests per day in Nigeria, but only about 40-50 are granted. Ikongshul got one of those 50.
To say the culture change from Nigeria to Madison, a small community on the Ohio River in southeastern Indiana, was big is an understatement, especially since the only "Madison" Ikongshul had ever heard of was Madison Square Garden. Madison, Ind., has a population over nearly 12,000. Madison Square Garden in New York City has a capacity of 20,789.
''I thought it was cool I was going to Madison Square Garden,'' he said. ''The family said, 'No, not that one. It's a small town in Indiana.''
When asked about what the best thing about the United State is, without hesitation, he said that it's his American family.
''I have three grandparents here and I never met my grandparents in Nigeria,'' Ikongshul said. ''I have lots of cousins and they send me text messages every week to remind me how proud they are of having me in their family.
''Sometimes it gets pretty hard with school and basketball, but once you know they have your back, it makes it a lot easier.''
Ikongshul knows his role for the Broncos and he relishes doing the gritty work so others can score.
''I think I will be a lot more defensive minded this year because we have a lot of offensive weapons,'' he said. ''Defense, rebounding, anything they want me to do, I'm there.''
Add Hawkins: ''If you aren't getting playing time, if you aren't happy with your role in your company, mom and dad can't call in. You have to speak to your boss and problem solve. Dida does that and he's always asking about what he can do to help the team.
''He's been an incredibly refreshing person to coach and to watch him grow as a young man.''
The Broncos had a team retreat a few weeks ago and one of the last exercises was for everyone to tell their teammates what they want out of the season and what they are willing to give up to get it. As usual, Ikongshul went straight to the point.
''Dida said I want a championship and I don't care what I have to do to get it,'' Hawkins said.
That smile might just disappear a little at game time, though.
''He's a fierce competitor,'' the coach said. ''When practice or a game comes around, there is a whole different look to his face.
''Every player we recruit hears me say we want guys to be beasts on the court and gentlemen off the court,'' Hawkins said. ''He epitomizes that as much as anyone who has been here.''
Ikongshul has a lofty plan after graduation.
''My goal is to be a manager in a Fortune 500 company,'' he said. ''I'm just building my base right now, hoping to get experience in a company somewhere and work my way up.
''I really see myself helping a business succeed. Not many kids in Nigeria have this dream.''
He said that previous statement with a huge smile…as usual.
