Salted beads of sweat trickle down his cheeks. His knees and feet are sore from the countless hours bouncing, cutting and stampeding on the hard floor each week. Elbows and muscles turn to jelly from tossing 22 ounces of composite leather through the air. Too many times to count.
What drives a 19-year-old young man to repeat this daily regiment? Desire propels him but the goal is two-fold. First and foremost he knows the more shots he puts up and the harder he practices, he will make himself and his team better. And that gives them the chance to win. Sama Taku wants his team to win.
Second, Taku wants the chance to play NCAA Division-I basketball. Fourenately for Taku, playing basketball at Santa Rosa Junior College gives him a great chance to do both, help his team win and get a scholarship to play ball at a D-I.
In high school Taku played AAU basketball for the Pump n Run and played on the varsity team at Tucson High School. In 2010 he was named the Arizona 5A Division Player of the Year by the Tucson Citizen.
After high school, Taku came to SRJC and played basketball for the past two seasons. This year, Taku helped lead the Bear Cubs to an overall 26-6 record, conference championship and into the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Northern California Regional Playoffs. The Bear Cubs reached the quarterfinals where they lost 70-73 to Yuba City College. Taku dominated the Big 8 Conference and won the conference MVP, earning an automatic spot on the first team All-State.
Taku averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assist in 31 games this season. His stats and accolades caught the eye of several colleges all season. Eventually the University of the Pacific in Stockton (D-I in basketball) offered Taku a scholarship. On April 12, Taku signed a letter of intent to play basketball at UOP and was accepted into the university’s business school.
The chance to play big time D-I hoops is finally a reality for Taku. Back in Arizona he thought he might be offered a D-I scholarship out of high school. But that didn’t happen and fate brought him to Santa Rosa. “I had a few looks from some D-II’s, but my whole goal was to play division-I,” Taku said. “I had a bunch of friends from my AAU team go D-I so I thought I was going to go D-I as well.”
SRJC head basketball coach Craig McMillan played D-I basketball at the University of Arizona and is well known in basketball circles for running a solid program at SRJC. “My AAU coach knew about coach McMillan’s program, so I contacted SRJC, came for a visit, saw that I liked it and ended up coming here,” Taku said. “I still played AAU that summer after high school hoping I would get a D-I offer but it didn’t happen and here I am now.”
Playing for McMillan versus other coaches is different when that coach has been through the fire at the D-I basketball level. “Coach Mac, the guy knows basketball, Taku said. He’s been around basketball probably his whole life, he gets a little crazy and he definitely is the most intense coach I ever had, but you gotta get used to it because that’s how it’s going to be at the next level. If they yell at you sometimes I think that means they care.”
After speaking with his coaches, it was easy to understand why Taku was invited with open arms into the Bear Cub family. “Sama is responsible and a really hard worker,” head coach Craig McMillan said. “He works well with the kids and will succeed in anything he does.”
Assistant basketball coach Troy Stevenson said Taku encompasses the ideal athlete. “I think Sama is what’s good about student-athletes. Unfortunately sometimes there’s a bad stereotype about athletes and anyone who meets Sama sees he’s so down to earth and how he gets along with everyone,” Stevenson said. “There’s a coach that lives around the corner (from SRJC) and there was a birthday party for a 10-year-old, Sama and another player found out about it and they ran over there and hung out. The kids loved it; that’s the kind of guy we want in our program.”
Taku may have the killer instinct and maturity that is needed to juggle both basketball and schoolwork. However he also has a playful side. “I watch a lot of cartoons in my free time, Static Shock and X-men,” Taku said. “But I like hanging out with friends. Connor Gillette’s a clumsy dude. He almost breaks his ankle every time we’re walking somewhere. I like messing with him. I’ll never forget this two years of my life.”
Taku has lived in an apartment with other teammates near Coddingtown Mall since he arrived at SRJC at age 17. “It’s a lot different here, the weather, the people are different, even how they dress,” Taku said. “It’s a growing experience because it’s actually my first time living without my parents and I had to adjust pretty quick.”
Playing at UOP, Taku will reunite with a former teammate. “I lived with Lorenzo McCloud, Connor Gillette and Jerod Domenichelli last year,” Taku said. “I’m happy about going to Pacific; I’ll have someone to work out with (McCloud) and put shots up with.”
At UOP Taku has opportunities that many basketball players dream about. The school has been to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament three times in the last 10 years and has been invited to compete in ESPN’s Anaheim Classic over Thanksgiving. This summer the UOP basketball team will also play overseas on a 10-day trip to France. The NCAA allows a foreign tour for D-I schools every four years and Taku’s timing is just right.
“Were going to France this summer and that caught my eye. A trip overseas will be a real experience,” Taku said. If I do what I gotta do, me and Zo should be in the backcourt together.”
Until Taku leaves Santa Rosa for UOP, he will likely be in the gym at Haehl Pavillion doing the same old thing: putting up shots. Even though the basketball season is over, Taku will still sweat away trying to improve his game and preparing to battle for playing time as a UOP Tiger.
“I’m trying to win as many games as possible over there and get to the NCAA tournament,” Taku said. “If I go in and handle my business, I’ll get a lot of playing time.”