M. Bball Recruit Brings Determination

Standing at 13-9 (4-4 Ivy), the Columbia's men's basketball team looks to be making a step in the right direction-thanks, in part, to recruitment in the last few seasons. As this year's group of juniors moves into their final season next year, head coach Joe Jones and the Lions hope to bring in some young talent. The team believes it has snagged just such a player in power forward Asenso Ampim.

Ampim will come to the Lions next season from Groton High School in Massachusetts. While Ampim may be a tad short for a big forward-he stands at only six feet five inches-he makes up for it with his power and quickness. "His size, athleticism, leg quickness, and speed, plus jumping ability, would be his strengths," Ampim's coach Ron Mazzaferro said.

According to cstv.com, Ampim "has a body and an emerging game that is more befitting of a high major than the Ivy League." This athleticism could give the Lions additional depth in the front court next season.

While Ampim has been blessed with a great deal of athleticism, there have been a few obstacles that he has had to overcome to become the player that he is today. For starters, he moved to America from England right before eighth grade. According to Ampim, his trans-Atlantic move was particularly difficult.

"Coming from England to America was a pretty difficult transition because I was taken out of an environment I had gotten used to for six years," Ampim said, "and suddenly placed into a totally new environment with different accents and different lifestyles."

While the change from England to America may have been difficult, the transition to basketball may have been even trickier for Ampim. He had played little organized basketball before coming to Groton and was cut from the varsity team in eighth grade. In England, he focused on other sports, such as track and field-a sport he participated in at Groton-rugby, soccer, and cricket. But while his experience with basketball was minimal, he was still upset about not making the team. Disappointment turned into determination.

"After being cut from the team, I faced disappointment for the first time in sports," Ampim said. "I decided then that I was going to try and learn as much as I could about the game so I could get better. So I taught myself how to shoot, practiced dribbling, and went to a camp that summer."

No doubt his personal development played an important role, but basketball is a familiar game for Ampim. His brother Nana Ampim is a walk-on junior guard at the University of Massachusetts. He, too, is blessed with a great deal of athleticism and physicality. While the similarities are evident, Ampim does not like comparing himself to his older brother.

"I feel that we are different people-therefore I do not compare myself or try to outdo him in any way," Ampim said about his brother. "I just focus on what I have to do."

Since attending Groton, Ampim has matured immensely as a player, which is reflected in his stats and the recruiting process that he went through. Last season as a junior, his scoring went up five points-from 15.4 to 20.4-while his rebounding remained steady at nine rebounds per game. This improvement attracted the attention of many programs, including three other Ivies-Brown, Penn and Princeton-and a number of upper-tier northeastern schools. But it was Columbia's interest in him that ultimately won him over.

"I personally chose Columbia because they were the first school that contacted me, and even though I attained a plethora of other offers, they stayed loyal to me in terms of their commitment and vision for me in their program," Ampim said.

While Ampim is still inexperienced, Mazzaferro predicts that he will make a distinct and notable contribution to the team.

"Asenso has a super challenge ahead, and with positive but firm reinforcement by the Columbia coaching staff, I feel he can be a solid contributor to the team," Mazzaferro said. "I feel being associated with and playing with talented players will bring out the athleticism, quickness, and excellent basketball potential in Asenso."