February 19, 2010
Samhan is old school
For many, the song remains the same—the possible unrealized. Full of basketball potential, desiring the bright lights, adulation and future six-figure paychecks but unable to traverse such flights of fancy rainbows with the discipline necessary to advance beyond the current plateau. The age-old question remains: why the litany of hoops could-have-beens? But actually the more intriguing query is, why the number of successes?
Samhan is transformation personified
Count Omar Samhan in the latter category. Now a 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior, he was a very solid performer in his latter prep years at San Ramon Valley High but weighed in at 300 pounds plus and the extra baggage made many college basketball coaches leery. Some interest developed but certainly not the typical amount for a big ‘big’ who compiled 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game averages as a senior.
Surface impressions can often rule the day in recruiting and did so in this particular situation. The oft-used proverbial phrase is not passing the eyeball test.
Now, some of those same coaches are paying the price -- in the loss column.
It was St. Mary’s -- Randy Bennett and Kyle Smith -- who saw something. Because they got to know him, understanding the drive and desire within Samhan, their take was ‘a talent with possibilities.’
Asked about the focal point and leader of the 2009-2010 Gaels, Smith offered, "What makes him good is that he loves to play and he enjoys competition, which is rare. He has an old school passion for playing and basketball is so much a part of his identity."
The stereotype for larger ‘bigs’ is that they prefer spending more time circling the buffet table than practicing on the court.
Not with Samhan.
"Omar is a gym rat who organizes games," Smith continued. "Sometimes we have to kick him and some other guys out of the gym in order to get them to rest their legs."
The difference between those those who say they want to improve and the lesser number who actually do so is channeling desire into intelligent action. According to Smith, Samhan "wants to win and be the best he can be."
What the young man has done is take that attitude and go to work.
"A player has to be willing to work on his weaknesses," per Smith, adding that "Samham was blessed with great size and excellent hands but he isn’t super quick or explosive. There is still room for him to get better like with lower body strength and shooting over both shoulders. He works on things and sustains that effort. It takes time but he’ll be a much better player at 26 than he is now."
Smith also credits John Raynor, the longtime San Ramon Valley (SRV) High boys basketball coach, as a factor in grounding Samhan in the basics. "Omar played for a great high school coach who knew how to play with a big guy." Smith noted, adding that Raynor also had longtime NBA-er Mark Madsen and also Chris Wiedeman as ‘bigs’ at the school in Danville.
As for Raynor, he recalls Samhan as "a gregarious, outgoing, fun-loving treat to be around."
He salutes his former protégé. "What he has done to his body is a testimony to his love of the game and his willingness to work hard," Raynor said, adding "it’s a dramatic statement. He made it a quest, a game plan for himself."
Raynor also lauded other aspects of Samhan. "He has an inner drive to do well and, while not a dynamic jumper, he has also improved his athleticism. He has soft hands and the ability to catch the ball plus nice shooting mechanics that make him an effective free throw and 12-to-15-feet shooter."
Samhan certainly recalls the level of college attention he received during his senior year in high school. "I had nothing serious going on in the way of recruiting," he said, adding, "it was tough. San Diego wanted me to walk on if I first spent a year at a junior college."
Other schools, especially in the Bay Area, simply had no interest.
Proximity helped as only fifteen or so miles separate Moraga (home of St. Mary’s) and Danville (where San Ramon High is located). Samhan spent many an hour on the Gael campus playing in open gyms. The coaching staff was familiar with him. But Randy Bennett was stocked up on bigs with 7-foot-1 sophomore Blake Sholberg, 7-0 junior Reda Rhalimi and 6-foot-10 junior Daniel Kickert.
But whether it be fate, kismet, luck or due to a nod from the basketball gods and goddesses, a St. Mary’s scholarship opened up and Bennett awarded it to Samhan.
He redshirted his initial St. Mary’s season.
In 32 games (seven starts) the next year, Samhan averaged 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, along with 47 blocked shots.
2007-2008 brought 32 starts, producing 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, plus 43 shotblocks.
The following season, it was 14.1 points and 9.4 boards each time out and 69 rejections.
His final year (26 games to date), it has been 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds with 76 shotblocks.
From the subject himself, how did he go from a minimal interest project to a likely NBA draftee?
"Coming out of high school," Samhan said, "I knew I had to get a lot better as a player and improve my body. My philosophy is you need to be all in or all out -- get better or stop playing."
But many a baller has spoken those words. Samhan advanced beyond that.
"I set goals, mapping them out, as a way of achieving them," he continued. "It was plenty of weightlifting, shooting, being in the gym with a purpose. It was hard work, hard to make gains. Everyday, every effort has to revolve around your commitment. A lot of people aren’t willing to make the sacrifices."
Samhan also went on a nutritional plan -- a dietary change and something that carries over to today. "I still tweak it based on ideas from other people," he said.
But he is also quick to credit others for his transformation.
"Coach Bennett, Coach Smith and Coach Raynor have each really helped me. They are passionate about basketball and their passion rubbed off on me so you can say I’ve kind of taken after them. They led me to be the worker that I am."
Here is Phil Handy, best known for working on skill development with players from NBA hopefuls to high schoolers, on Samhan: "People say many things about Omar but the one thing that stands out to me more than anything is his work ethic and determination to prove people wrong on all fronts. I remember the first time I saw Omar play [as a redshirt freshman at St. Mary’s], the first question out of my mouth was who is that big kid with the floppy hair? After watching about 2 minutes, I quickly said this kid is going to a pro! he showed soft hands, good footwork, good timing, nice skills. Yes, he was overweight, not a great athlete, not super quick and all the other things people choose to say about him but I saw a fire in him that has led to the Omar Samhan of 2010. Since having the chance to work with him on his skills the past couple of years, I learned even more about his ability, not only his basketball skills but his mind. He is a supremely confident but humble kid who wants nothing more than to be a pro. In some of my summer workouts, I have witnessed Omar literally embarrass guys playing in the NBA and at high level European ball. There are a lot of critics of this kid who say he can’t do this and he can’t do that -- I’ve had a few people laugh at me regarding my thoughts about him becoming a pro. He may not be a high flyer or super athletic but the kid has some great skills. Coach Bennett and the staff at St. Mary’s have done a tremendous job in his development. The numbers don’t lie -- from year one, he has improved and now is one of the best big men in college basketball. If that’s not the making of a pro basketball player then I don’t know what is!"
There may or may not be a saying along the lines of &;squo;it’s not what you have but what you do with it,’ but, if not, there should be. Omar Samhan is example number one.