OUT OF AFRICA

Traditional African music is playing on the stereo in a one-bedroom apartment near the Cal State Fullerton campus.

“Listening to the music from home,” Babacar Camara said, “is part of my routine before I play.”

The music also helps Camara feel more comfortable in his new surroundings.

“It helps me remember my home, but also why I’m here,” he said. “I’m here to play basketball and to get a good education.”

Camara, from Dakar, Senegal, is among a growing number of basketball expatriates living what he calls “the dream” of playing in the United States.

“Every basketball player in my country thinks about playing in the NCAA,” said Camara, a 6-foot-11 center for the Titans. “Not many get the chance.”

Camara says he “celebrated a lot” after Rob Orellana, one of Titan Coach Donny Daniels’ assistants, offered him a scholarship to play at Fullerton after watching him in Senegal last summer.

A whirlwind adjustment to the more physical brand of basketball played in the United States began a few months later, and it’s ongoing.

Camara’s role with the Titans has gradually grown, and when senior center Matt Caldwell became ill with swollen lymph nodes, Camara was thrust into the starting lineup. He is averaging 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds for a team that is struggling.

Like his teammates, Camara wishes the team’s 2-12 record were better, but he says he’s grateful just to have the opportunity to play and improve.

“There are good basketball players in Senegal, but they don’t have the support there to get better,” he said. “They don’t have enough money to develop the programs. The good programs are here.”

Camara also is adjusting away from the court. He met two other basketball players from Senegal not long after arriving in Fullerton, and they have given him another connection to his home. Moctar Ndiaye is playing his first season at Hope International, and Ndiaye’s cousin, Birahima Thiaw, is redshirting this season at Fullerton College. They have been in the United States for more than a year.

“Having my home boys here has made it nice,” Camara said. “I don’t feel homesick. I like it here. The people have been nice to me.”

Camara remembered walking down the street one day and hearing a person call out to him in his ethnic language, Wolof.

“My coach told me that Cal State had a player from Senegal this year, so my cousin and I started looking for him,” Ndiaye said. “One day I saw this real tall guy, and I noticed he was wearing some pants that looked like they were from back home. I thought, ‘That has to be him.’ I said something to him in Wolof and he answered back.”

The three quickly became friends and later moved in together, sharing an apartment. “It’s close, and I can ride my bike to classes,” Camara said.

Their student home has few reminders of Senegal other than the music. It has a more typical American college-student decor, complete with leftover fast-food wrappers and sacks on the kitchen table. The living room walls are adorned with an eclectic collection of posters from Ndiaye’s favorite movie “Scarface,” the Al Pacino film. Another part of the room has pictures and banners of reggae musician Bob Marley that Camara provided, a tribute to some of his favorite music. An African drum, a present to Ndiaye when he left Senegal, sits on one side of the room.

“I didn’t bring much with me from Senegal but some of my clothes,” Camara said. “I did bring my favorite sandals, which make me feel good, and I brought my music.”

Camara appears a bit cautious at first around strangers. “He wouldn’t say much at all for a while,” Orellana said. “I think he might have been a little self-conscious about his accent.”

Camara speaks French as well as several African dialects. He also knows Arabic. His English is good, though halting at times when he searches for the right word. He and his Senegalese friends speak Wolof to each other frequently, but Camara sometimes asks them to speak English instead because, he said, “I want to get better at it.”

Teammate Brandon Campbell said he thinks Camara is adjusting well to his new environment. “He’s real quiet, but he’s still very friendly,” Campbell said.

Camara said Campbell has helped him by explaining elements of the Titan offense.

“Babacar talks most of the time about what he needs to do to get better,” Campbell said. “He comes to practice every day to do his job, and he works hard. He hasn’t gotten frustrated, even though the game has been different for him here. I think he has a whole lot of potential.”

One factor that has slowed Camara is the way rules are interpreted in American basketball.

“I feel confused during the games sometimes,” Camara said. “They call me for traveling on some of my moves. The big difference in basketball here is that it’s more physical. But that’s what I like about it. I’m not physical yet, but I’m trying to be.”

Daniels said he is pleased with the progress Camara has made in such a short time.

“He’s getting a sense of how physical he needs to be, and that’s important,” Daniels said. “He’s not backing down. Once he gets going on a weight-training program, he’ll thrive on it. Some of the shots he’s missing inside now will start going down when he gets stronger. He won’t get as many shots blocked. Coach Orellana is working with him on his footwork every day and he’s getting better. I couldn’t be more pleased with him.”

Camara attended Cheickantadiop University in Dakar for a year, but it had no organized basketball program. Because Camara had not taken a Scholastic Assessment Test before enrolling in college there, he entered Fullerton with three years of basketball eligibility remaining. Orellana said the school will seek an additional season from the NCAA if Camara graduates in four years.

Orellana heard about Camara from the coach of Camara’s club team in Dakar. Orellana said he had met Babacar Sy at a basketball camp in the East when Sy was visiting there.

“He told me he had a good player who really wanted to come to the United States,” Orellana said. “I went over to see him, and I liked what I saw. Anyone who is as big as Babacar is, and can run and catch the ball as well as he can, has to be a prospect on our level.” Camara has averaged 25 minutes in 14 games.

Camara, whose father is a retired teacher and whose mother works in sales, is majoring in political science. He says he has given some thought to trying to work at the United Nations in the future.

“I might also like to go back home and open a basketball school,” he said, “and help other players from my country come to the United States and play.”