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Then one day that spring Flo was sitting in eighth-grade biology class, scrolling through Facebook and his brothers picture was everywhere. You just take with you a part of everything you see and everything you experience.. Flo Thamba drops in and-1 for Baylor. . Allstate Mayhem basketball commercial: Inside the 'Overly Competitive Because of what happened to his brother, it takes time to win his trust. He had written an essay to qualify for an international scholarship program. Im thinking its a repeat. You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard. He was bad. Theres no perfect way to deal with what (Thamba) went through., His former high school coach, Al Wilson, would talk him through it. Given Thambas well-traveled youth, his parents were speaking French. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? What we do takes one, two, three years sometimes for these guys, Jakus says. You must be a subscriber to . What was the feeling in the locker room after dropping a crazy one to the University of North Carolina? PTS. I mean, it gave me a lot of motivation, Thamba said. It started last season when he began to study Gillespie closely. In some ways, this made the process more difficult for Thamba. He said that older brother, Levy, later went to a community college in Wyoming to study engineering, but died in an accident after trying a legal marijuana edible during a spring break trip to Colorado in 2014. The tragedy that inspires Baylor center Flo Thamba. 1Y; 0:16. Flo Thambas basketball career started like it does for a lot of Africans. Thamba had six points (2-2 FG, 2-2 FT), three rebounds and two blocks over 18 minutes during Sunday's 85-76 loss to Creighton. bear2be2. I was one of the first guys to go to the Academy. Flo Thamba - Men's Basketball - Baylor University Athletics Im proud to have a Baylor degree, Thamba writes, but there is more work to be done. He thinks about him often, and then he thinks about his father and the example he setthat you have to keep moving onto the next thing. For Baylor forward Flo Thamba, however, few games, if any, carry more weight than Thursdays NCAA opener. You just take with you a part of everything you see and everything you experience.. Lets not forget about the five-star All-American coming in, so theres an opportunity to do something great.. Last year was hard. But Teague said both posts carve out space in the lane with screens that make it easier for the guards to shoot, and there are times when Tchamwa Tchatchoua runs the floor with the smaller guys. I never left boarding school, Flo says. The 6-foot-10 Congo native is the lone starter . Flo Thamba nails the buzzer-beater. The highlight defensive play of the game so far came when Baylor Bears' big-man, Flo Thamba, rose up to swat Corey Kispert's shot away. Education was always the biggest priority in the Thamba household. The Oklahoma Sooners are Big 12 softball champions, once again, after an 8-2 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday. Before his senior season, star teammate Oscar Tshiebwe, now at West Virginia, transferred and the program appeared to be in flux. When he got to Baylor, he had to pay dues,. Cumulus and the Big 12 are not affiliated with this website. But those guards know they wouldnt be where they are without the interchangeable 245-pound post players: the 6-foot-10 junior Thamba and and 6-8 sophomore Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who earned the nickname Everyday Jon for his work ethic and nonstop energy since his arrival. The Oklahoma Sooners are Big 12 softball champions, once again, after an 8-2 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today). Flo knows his father probably had his moments alone when he allowed himself to grieve, but he never saw his dad cry. About 30 to 60 minutes after eating the first piece, he told his friends he didnt feel anything, so he ate the rest of the cookie, which contained 65 milligrams of THC 6 times the recommended serving amount. You have that bad taste in your mouth knowing we could have gone all the way, but circumstances didnt allow that. Now you get a stretch big, someone who can shoot 40, 50 percent from three and that opens up the offense. It was back when the two still-growing and raw players from different countries in Central Africa created a bond because they both spoke French. When he got to Baylor, he had to pay dues, playing his first 52 games off the bench before becoming a starter as a junior and helping lead the Bears to the programs first national title. Thamba, who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, grew up in South Africa and also lived in England and France before coming to the United States. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba, the high-energy athletic bigs who do so much inside helping guard-oriented Baylor, first met at a Basketball Without Borders camp in Johannesburg, South Africa. Flo's parents are mentioned in some places. 19 the age of his brother when he left this world. The fifth-year senior with a 7-foot-5 wingspan is Baylors heart-and-soul, and the programs all-time winningest player (115 in games played). He averaged 3.6 points and four rebounds per game, helping Baylor win its first NCAA tournament title. Thamba was a good soldier and performed when called upon You never had to worry that hed be too nervous or how he would respond, Drew says but he struggled internally. REB. Tchamwa Tchatchoua has even played more but theres not a hint of jealousy between the two. Thamba had another older brother who would wait for hours after school to ride the bus home with him. I just had to swallow that tough pill and lockdown right now and focus on school.. He was like I feel like I know you from somewhere, said Thamba, who was already at Baylor when Tchamwa Tchatchoua (pronounced CHAWM-wuh CHAT-chew-wuh) transferred there following a freshman season at UNLV. Flo Thamba throws down big slam dunk vs. Mcneese St Cowboys. Flo Thamba Game by Game Stats and Performance | ESPN But given the circumstances, the day was about far more than just basketball for Thamba and his family in the end a theme Thamba says has always rung true in his household. Position: Forward 6-10, 245lb (208cm, 111kg) . WATCH: Gonzaga Bulldogs' Corey Kispert Falls Victim - EssentiallySports Flo Thamba's Parents Watch Him Play for First Time: Look [1] His older brother, Levy, fatally fell from a hotel balcony in 2014 after consuming a marijuana edible.[6]. How was he so steady? As he copes with the 2014 death of his brother, Thamba is splitting minutes at center for the second-ranked Bears. Some days he was the backup center and part of the rotation. This page is not available in other languages. It was just his composure and how he kept his head down and kept working, Thamba says. Definitely the teams chemistry, the fact that we have a bunch of guys that love each other. . Flo Thamba - COLLEGE-BASKETBALL News & Rumors | FOX Sports The Avalanche championship dynasty crumbles less than a year after hoisting the Stanley Cup. Because of his injury, Jon was able to spend a lot of time just working on his shot and his passing, Drew said. Hes different than a lot of kids now. Plus, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchouashould return from his knee injury earlier this season, giving Baylor a strong squad yet again in 2022-23. But in the end, it only added to the motivation for the senior entering his final go around in March Madness. Player Bio. Powered by Capitol Presence & Olympus Cloud. Dec 21, 2020. Jakus made two visits to Mountain Mission that sold Thamba. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Those guys do a tremendous amount of things that go unnoticed on the stat sheet, Teague said. Drew says if Clark had been healthy, he probably would have played with two bigs more often, which would have meant Thamba would have been locked into that backup big man role and the minutes would have been there. Stoic is the word his coaches use. It hurt, but when we got back in that locker room, as much as we were down it was more like, We came back from being down 25, thats never been done before. For me, that untapped new potential that we didnt even know we had. He even considered it. Thats pretty unique.. It all depended on the availability of Tristan Clark, who was dealing with his own battles while returning from a knee injury. At Mountain Mission, he picked the No. He averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Weve got this. We cheer for each other every time. Flo spent time in England as a child and eventually moved to South Africa, where he started playing basketball. Flo's weight is 111 kg. Kind of shot two air balls in the warmup. Flo Thamba - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com It's official: Jamal Murray, Nuggets are in Phoenix's heads now. He could never do that with Thamba, because his freshman year was sort of a transition season for the Bears, who needed depth. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Levi had traveled to Denver with some new friends for a spring break trip. It was more like moments of happiness. He said hes still not 100%, but his knee is responding better than expected to his return to game action. The NBA hopeful has twin older brothers who are engineers, another brother who is in finance and a sister working toward a law degree in England. Flo Thamba, 6-10, 245, PF, Jr. (Kinshasa, Congo) Committed: Jan. 15, 2018 Thamba came to the United States in 2015 after spending his freshman year in high school in Johannesburg, South Africa. And it was overall fun to see and stuff.". "Baylor bigs: Flo, 'Everyday Jon' help make Bear guards great", "NCAA Final Four: Baylor's Thamba honed his skills at Grundy's Mountain Mission", "Flo Thamba's Path to Waco / How Baylor Was Built", "Men's College Basketball: Baylor's Flo Thamba takes to the big stage", "No. Baylor's Flo Thamba Will Return for Fifth Year in 2022-23 [1] At age 16, he moved to the United States to attend Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia, where he played basketball for three seasons. I sat out and could watch and learn, Gillespie says. 1Y; 0:22. Denae Fritz Announces Transfer from Iowa State to Baylor, Baylor Bears Womens Basketball 2023-24 Offseason Roster Tracker, Baylor Bears mens basketball 2023-24 offseason roster tracker, Baylor to Face Brady Manek, Tar Heels in NCAA Second Round, Saint Peters Overtime Win over Kentucky Upsets East Region. The other player who has not been the horse we expected defensively is Flo Thamba. 0 because Wilson identified that as a number of responsibility. Flo Thamba - Wikipedia Levi Thamba, who was five years older, would stay behind at school while Flo practiced, waiting to ride the late bus home and encouraging his brother to stick with it. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, All-American junior Jared Butler and his backcourt mates Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague pretty much get all of the attention, nickname Everyday Jon for his work ethic and nonstop energy, spent two years at the NBA Global Academy. 2022-23 Big 12 Standings. We knew we were going to lose eventually, no matter how much we were winning, there are going to be one or two games youre going to lose. Another brother is in finance. Thamba, who has started all 28 games, and Tchamwa Tchatchoua combine to average 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds a game. His first basketball memory is that he could barely dribble. Then coming in sophomore year and him getting all the minutes, I had no reason to be mad. He wants to play in the NBA, and if he gets there he plans to wear the jersey No. Flo Thamba. Just keep going. After the last game happened, everybody kind of went home and just spent time with family. Baylor routs rival Texas at home. Thamba said his father, who works in customs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, wanted his children to have the ability to experience and see different things. Baylor vs Iowa State Cyclones Ferrell Center - Sat 3/4 Tickets as low as $9. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Thamba told reporters Wednesday ahead of the game, . In some ways, this made the process more difficult for Thamba. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Subscribe Now. One stop at a time. Copyright 2017-22 Heartland College Sports. Ever., He was confused. The fifth-year senior with a 7-foot-5 wingspan is Baylor's heart-and-soul, and the program's all-time winningest player (115 in games played). Jon in transition, I think Ive got like four 3s specifically this year because of Jon sprinting the floor, and the guard had to drop down in the paint for him, Teague said. Flo Thamba. Senior with 7-foot-5 wingspan, originally from Kinshasa, Congo; splits time with Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua at 5-spot Holds the program record for most NCAA Tournament Games Played (10, eight starts) Started 64-consecutive games after entering 2020-21 national championship season with 0 career starts in 52 games played Scored in double-figures in 6 of last 10 games of 2021-22 after doing so in 4 of first 106 games Had 9 more steals in the 2021-22 season (22 in 694 minutes) than first 3 seasons combined (13 in 952 minutes) Born in Congo, lived in England, France and South Africa, emigrated to United States in 2014 Averaged 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as senior at Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va. Late addition to 2018 signing class, ranked No. (23-11, 3rd place in conference (Big 12), Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:49AM. Flos our anchor, senior guard Adam Flagler said. But after that camp, they didnt see each other again until a pickup game two summers ago, more than 9,000 miles away in Waco, Texas. The national champion sat down with me to reflect on this past season, as well as give more insight on his decision to return for a fifth season. Thamba, like his teammates dressed in slacks and dress shoes, immediately instructed his teammates to get out and talked them through pushing the van out. When he checked the ball -- firing it at his brother's legs -- that will resonate with plenty of viewers. He talked to Flo about his testimony, talked to Flo about the loyalty that Baylor has to their players, talked to Flo about Coach Drews vision and how it was a program of faith, Wilson says. And that had nothing to do with what was at stake on the hardwood, but who was in the grandstands at Dickies Arena. If you go back through, like a Cory Jefferson, youve got to get really high-character kids that want to love Baylor and not rent us.. The Los Angeles Chargers love themselves some TCU football. Levi Thamba, who was five years older, would stay behind at school while Flo practiced, waiting to ride the late bus home and encouraging his brother to stick with it. Flo Thamba nails the buzzer-beater. The 24-year-old spent parts of his childhood in Congo, England, France and South Africa, moving around before emigrating to the United States at age 16. Ojianwuna previously played for NBA Academy Africa as well as the NBA Global Academy before landing at Baylor. When Coach Jakus understood that and told him his heart, I think that was the tipping point for Flo.. Flo Thamba, Baylor's "anchor" and all-time winningest player, leads He was tall, and the middle school coach suggested he play basketball. I took full advantage of that; I hadnt seen my parents in a long time so I was focused on them. [5], Thamba's father, Emmanual, works in customs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the first Final Four for the Bears since 1950, when there were only eight teams in the NCAA Tournament, and also the last time they had won a conference title. In October 2015, with the help of Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo, who is also from the Congo, Flo moved to the United States to play basketball at Mountain Mission School in Virginia. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Angry CU Buffs parents, confused kids who felt forced into transfer portal. "If we give him one more [award ball] we won't have anymore to practice with," Drew quipped. Wilson found out years ago that Thamba wants the truth. When I spoke to them it was about how we have an opportunity to do something really good. Jeremy [Sochan] is like a swiss army knife, he can shoot the three, he could play the four and he could play the five. Flo Thamba Personal Life. But he kept waking up and was incoherent, at one point talking to a room lamp. He said that older brother, Levy, later went to a community college in Wyoming to study engineering, but died in an accident after trying a legal marijuana edible during a spring break trip to Colorado in 2014. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba, the high-energy athletic bigs who do so much inside helping guard-oriented Baylor, first met at a Basketball Without Borders camp in Johannesburg, South Africa. 2,007 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by DanaDane. Emmanual Thamba works in customs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he sent his children all over the world to study. 17 West Virginia, drops series finale, 18-4, No. We also had LJ [Cryer] on the bench, and he was leading our team in scoring for the first half of the season. He made sure Thamba didnt use the circumstances as a crutch or an excuse. Team CONF GB OVR; Kansas . And it was overall fun to see and stuff.. The next morning Jakus rented a two-wheel-drive vehicle and drove four hours in 12 inches of snow to visit Thamba, who had just returned from a visit to Nebraska. How did you make the decision to return? Playing (for the NBA Global Academy) allowed me to dream and see myself in these shoes, Tchamwa Tchatchoua said. Flo Thamba contributed 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 FT) and nine rebounds over 23 minutes during Saturday's 80-70 victory over Kansas. Thamba has started all 29 of Baylor's games this season. ANALYSIS. He was fine, he was normal, he was an easy-going kid, and then he ate this cookie and went over the balcony. Were still waiting on a couple of guys decisions, but if they do decide to come back then most definitely. On his other visit, Jakus didnt talk about basketball. Let's talk about Flo Thamba | SicEm365 243 overall and No. flo thamba brother Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. You can learn more about Pete by visiting his personal website: PeteMundo.com. CJ Moore 8 . The days that ensued felt chaotic, but through it all, he watched his father. Thamba said he found himself having a lot of motivation to play well, and he did, as he scored 14 points against Norfolk State. The 6-foot-10, 245-pound post player with the 7-5 wingspan had four points, four rebounds and a steal in Saturday's 78-59 semifinal win . 10 Baylor rallies to beat No. I was really emotional in that moment, he said. Even though Baylor didnt have him for much of this season, Bears coach Scott Drew looked at the bright side. We got to get our stuff together. After that, injuries started piling in and that was definitely tough. Posted on March 17, 2022. He was the No. It is the first Final Four for the Bears since 1950, when there were only eight teams in the NCAA Tournament, and also the last time they had won a conference title. Hes more than just a basketball player. They visited a marijuana dispensary, and one of Levis friends purchased six cookies. Thamba will give the Bears valuable experience down low, and the Bears are expected to bring back guard Adam Flagler, guard Dale Bonner, guard LJ Cryer, guard/forward Jordan Turner, and forward Zach Loveday. 1Y; 2:02. You can be down 20 or in a tie game, and Thambas expression isnt going to change. He said that when he plays in front of his family, its not as a star basketball player, but as the little brother who is the youngest in the household., They basically just see stuff, smile and then thats their communication language, Thamba said. 8. As Thamba stood on the sideline, assistant coach Jerome Tang noticed something that told him where Thamba is now. Hits 18 minutes in Round of 32 loss Thamba had six points (2-2 FG, 2-2 FT), three rebounds and two blocks over 18 minutes during Sunday's 85 . A former three-star prospect out of Grundy (Va.) Mountain Mission School, Thamba signed with Baylor as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2018, per the 247Sports Composite Player Rankings. For me its a confidence booster, Thamba says. Baylor bigs: Flo, `Everyday Jon' help make Bear guards great Something had happened. In the 2021 title game, Thamba had Drew Timme in his back pocket and he continued that defensive dominance. As a sixth-grader in South Africa when just starting to learn how to dribble, Thamba had another older brother who would wait for hours after school to ride the bus home with him. Hes averaging 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds. When Baylor begins its pursuit of a second national title in three years Friday at Ball Arena, pay attention to Flo Thamba. Let go get a third-straight Big 12 title and another national championship.. Its not because of the weed.. When we had lost to [Texas] Tech at home, that was a blow as far as us being undefeated and being at home. (I) kind of shot two air balls in the warmup. Fully healthy, what would this team have been? Baylor forward Flo Thamba, HC Scott Drew await Big 12 play at ISU But the thing that sticks with us the most was the togetherness we had. That was about five years ago and far from the NCAA Final Four.