For any student having trouble adjusting to life at ASU, just look for freshman men's basketball player Wilfried Fameni.
It's hard to miss the 6-foot-8 forward who is expected to see time at both forward positions. Fameni came to the United States in November 2001 from his native Cameroon as a foreign exchange student. Since he left his home country, he hasn't seen his mom or his two sisters.
Every week, Fameni and his family talk on the phone about life in Cameroon and how he is adjusting to living in Arizona.
On the way to ASU, Fameni's first stop was Amelia Academy, a private school about 35 miles southwest of Richmond, Va., where Fameni was one of 10 in his graduating class.
"It wasn't a shock, but it was different," Fameni said of coming to the United States. "When I came to Virginia, it was in November and it was always cold, and when I left Cameroon, it was hot. The first thing I did was call my mom and tell her how cold it was."
At Amelia, Fameni excelled in class to a point where ASU head coach Rob Evans said he had "one of the best high school transcripts I have ever read." As a senior, Fameni averaged 23 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game and was a first-team all-state selection.
Fameni only has been playing basketball for five years; he switched from soccer after one of his best friends came back from Belgium and introduced him to the game. In Cameroon, Fameni was able to watch two pro games a week, one of which was shown live on Tuesdays very late at night. He eventually began to idolize Orlando Magic forward Tracy McGrady.
Tulane and West Virginia were among the other schools chasing Fameni, but he selected ASU because of its strong business school and because of Evans.
"I think he is a great person," Fameni said of his coach. "He gave me time to look around and take my time to pick the best school out of every school that recruited me."
The presence of Serge Angounou, a fellow forward and Cameroon native, also helped in Fameni's decision. The two regularly talk in French, one of the official languages of the country. Fameni also speaks German and Fefe, an African dialect, and had to learn English when he came to Virginia.
"It wasn't a hard choice to make," Fameni said. "I had to either learn it or not be able to speak to people or communicate."
When Fameni graduates from ASU, he plans on returning to his family in Cameroon and own a business. Fameni hopes to major in accounting and says his favorite class is calculus.
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
