Pascal Siakam

Siakam was born in Douala, Cameroon to Tchamo and Victorie Siakam and was the youngest of four brothers. Siakam\'s father worked at a local transit company and was also the mayor of Makénéné. His father enrolled him in St. Andrew\'s Seminary, a Catholic institution in Bafia, at age 11; according to a 2018 story by ESPN journalist Jackie MacMullan, Pascal was "hand-picked to embody his family\'s Catholicism." He was an academic star, initially planning to become a Catholic priest, but by age 15 no longer wanted to be a priest. Siakam initially had little interest in basketball, unlike his older brothers, all of whom earned scholarships to NCAA Division I schools.\n', ' He was discovered as a player by Luc Mbah a Moute, whose parents\' home in Bafia is about 2 miles (3 km) from St. Andrew\'s Seminary, at a local camp. Siakam attended Mbah a Moute\'s camp for the first time in 2011, a year before graduating from St. Andrew\'s, and returned to the camp the following year, after which he was chosen to attend a Basketball Without Borders camp. At this camp, despite having had virtually no basketball experience, he gained attention for his athleticism and extremely high energy level; in MacMullan\'s 2018 story, Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who had been at this camp, recalled, "His effort was memorable." With Mbah a Moute as a mentor, Siakam moved to the United States at the age of 16. Siakam moved from one camp to the next to become a better professional basketball player before settling in Lewisville, Texas. He spent a year at God\'s Academy in Lewisville, due to previously being labeled ineligible for play, before being recruited by New Mexico State University.\n', ' Siakam enrolled at New Mexico State University in 2013. However, because of an injury, he redshirted the 2013–14 season. The following season in 2014–15, Siakam was named the WAC Freshman of the Year. He averaged 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 34 games in 2015–16, en route to unanimous WAC Player of the Year honors.\n', '