It’s a ritual he’s been practicing all season.
Every time Archbishop Carroll (Fla.) High School coach Juan Hernandez watches the Connecticut men’s basketball team play, he focuses in on freshman center Amida Brimah.
And when Brimah gets the ball on offense, Hernandez gets out of his chair and starts yelling out what Brimah’s about to do.
“That’s because he’s only got two or three moves!” Hernandez told Thrive Sports, laughing. “I know because I watched him every day last year, and so when he goes to his left or something, I start yelling ‘Hook!’ and then he does his hook shot. It’s been great to see.”
Hernandez coached Brimah during his senior year of high school, and is now watching with pride as his former pupil plays a big role in UConn’s surprising run to the Sweet 16.
Considering he only started playing basketball four years ago, it’s pretty stunning where Brimah is now, starting on a path already blazed by former UConn star centers Hasheem Thabeet and Emeka Okafor, who, like Brimah, have roots in Africa.
Heading into Friday’s game with Iowa State in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York, the Ghana native has made his mark on this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Brimah (pronounced BRY-Mah), a freshman, has been getting better and better every game for the Huskies, and so far in the NCAA Tournament, he’s shown that he’s capable of improving very quickly.
In UConn’s first game of the tournament, it was Brimah’s hook shot and ensuing free throw that forced overtime with St. Joseph’s, and the Huskies eventually prevailed, with Brimah scoring nine points and adding six rebounds. He scored only two points in UConn’s third-round upset win over No. 2 seed Villanova, but his 7-foot frame altered countless shots and helped shut down the Wildcats’ attack.
For a 7-foot kid who was considered a mid-major recruit last year, Brimah’s play has been a revelation to most.
But not to Hernandez.
“I’m not surprised, because he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around,” Hernandez said. “What he’s doing is what he does well — block shots and run the floor. The (UConn coaches) are keeping it simple for him, and he’s having great success.”
Brimah has averaged 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for UConn. He said this week he’s just trying to focus on the defensive end right now.
“Coach always puts me in the game to bring energy and play defense,” Brimah told ESPN’s Andy Katz this week. “My offense isn’t that improved right now, so I’ve just to play defense and bring as much energy to the team as I can.”
Brimah’s journey to UConn has been well-chronicled. He left Ghana at age 16 after being “discovered” by countryman Nana Baafi, who was an assistant coach at St. Thomas University in Miami. Baafi became Brimah’s guardian and convinced his family to allow Brimah to move to America.
“I was going to school one day and he saw me and (told me) I’m wasting my talent in Ghana, and he brought me here,” Brimah said last week. “I liked soccer, that was my first sport, but when I got here, I realized I could be better in basketball, so I just started liking basketball.”
After stops at two other Florida high schools, Brimah transferred to Archbishop Carroll and came under the tutelage of Hernandez.
“He was always a good shot blocker, but we tried to teach him not to go after everything, which was his tendency,” Hernandez said. “He started to get better at that, and his offense came a long way from where it was. He still has a long way to go, but he’s come so far already.”
Schools like La Salle and South Carolina were recruiting Brimah, but UConn discovered him at an AAU tournament last year and immediately offered a scholarship.
Hernandez said he’s been talking and texting with Brimah “about every week” during the season, and that except for the freezing cold Connecticut winter, Brimah’s been enjoying his transition to college life.
“Once he gets bigger and stronger and learns the game more, he’s going to be a tremendous player,” Hernandez said. “You have to remember, he’s only been playing for four years.”
