Island Fever
Like many people, Hewitt Rolle longs to loll in the Bahamas, where the pace is slow and the water warm.
Unlike many people, Rolle would be returning to his homeland.
Rolle, a junior forward on the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team, was born and raised on the island of Exume, nurtured by his mother along with 10 older brothers and sisters. He hitchhiked 20 miles to high school and didn’t pick up a basketball until 10th grade because he was busy scuba diving for conch, a shellfish.
Through a Caribbean accent, the soft-spoken Rolle (pronounced, “Roll”) speaks with pride of being the first in his family to attend college. A business major with a 3.0 grade-point average, he plans to return to the Bahamas with a degree and start a business.
First, of course, comes the business of helping the Matadors win the Big Sky Conference tournament. Rolle, 6 feet 7 and 230 pounds, is a consummate role player, coming off the bench to grab rebounds, play defense and score within five feet of the basket.
He is especially tough on the offensive boards. Rolle averages 3.8 rebounds in only 13 minutes a game. A left-handed shooter, he averages 3.5 points, mostly on rebound baskets and short bank shots. He leads the team in free-throw shooting at 73%.
“Hewitt is a consistent, hard-working player who has brought a lot to this program,” Coach Bobby Braswell said. “He is our first international player and has become an excellent fit.”
Coming to Northridge involved more of an adjustment for Rolle than for his teammates, most of whom grew up in Southern California. Although he left the Bahamas in 1996 and played two seasons at Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas, this season has been a succession of new experiences.
Rolle saw snow for the first time when the team traveled to Flagstaff, Ariz., to play Northern Arizona in January and he is eating red meat for the first time because it is served in his dormitory.
He also locks his door, a habit he never had to learn on Exume, population 3,000.
“You know everybody and everybody knows you,” he said. “If I went to my home in the Bahamas right now, my house is open right now.”
The biggest adjustment is living without his mother, who died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 70. Although Rolle has siblings as old as 53, he was very close to his mother.
He didn’t know who his father was until his mother told one of his sisters on her deathbed. It turns out his father is a man from Exume whom Rolle knew for years.
“My dad was not in my life,” Rolle said. “I always asked my mom, but she never told me who he was. When my mom died I talked to him, but if he wanted to be part of my life he would have taken that step.”
Rolle’s brother, Craig Henderson, 37, is his guardian and father figure. Since he arrived at Northridge, Braswell and associate head coach Mike Johnson have filled the void.
Rolle makes friends easily and is especially close to junior forward Jeff Parris and freshman guard Markus Carr.
“Hewitt is real easy to like,” Carr said. “He’s an interesting guy to talk to.”
And to dine with. Johnson bought some conch in Chinatown and had Rolle over for dinner. Rolle took over in the kitchen and prepared the abalone-like shellfish for Johnson and his wife.
The result pleased Rolle.
“They liked it, they really did,” he said.
He’s certain his teammates would enjoy the Bahamas. The feeling is mutual.
“I’ve talked to him about getting out there with him,” Carr said. “That’s definitely something I want to do. Maybe this summer.”
Rolle can show his new friends his high school, set in a small village called Moss Town.
“It’s just a school on a hill, out in the wilderness,” he said. “It’s quiet. You could concentrate on what you had to do.”
Rolle lived 20 miles away, and on the frequent days the bus broke down he hitchhiked to school.
“If a car came by, it was always somebody I knew,” he said. “And if nobody came by, I just kept walking.”
Amid the slow pace, his game developed rapidly. Rolle was chosen for an all-star team of players from the more than 100 schools in the Bahamas.
Lon Morris coaches offered Rolle a junior college scholarship after watching him play in a tournament in Las Vegas.
Two years later, Northridge recruited Rolle to help beef up a front line that got pushed around last season. On his official visit, Rolle enjoyed the warm weather and warm people.
“I’d never heard of Cal State Northridge, but on my visit I liked what I saw,” he said. “I still like it a whole lot. It’s like we are a family.
“I didn’t have the opportunities of American kids. Coming here was a big step in my life.”
Eventually, Rolle knows he will return to the Bahamas.
“I’ve got a whole lot of family there,” he said. “I’ll go back when I finish school and apply what I’ve learned here. This is nice, but that is home.”
