FORT WORTH, Texas — It had been ten years since Baylor's Flo Thamba seen his sister before she arrived in Waco to watch his senior day game against Iowa state Sunday.
"It's been tough, it's been some years," Thamba told Baylor Bear Insider Jerry Hill before the game. "Me and my sister were talking last night, and the last time we saw each other was 10 years ago. That was a long time ago. It's definitely going to be good."
His sister, Emma, was able to see him and the Bears clinched a share of their second-straight Big 12 championship.
After seeing his team on the one line, he said being able to play in Fort Worth will allow parents to watch him play a college basketball game for the first time.
Thamba is originally from Democratic Republic of the Congo, but grew up in South Africa and also lived in England and France before emigrating to the United States in 2014, according to Baylor Bear Insider,
He played high school basketball in Virginia and was able to travel stateside. Like so many international college basketball prospects, he was here to chase his dream of playing in the NBA.
Since being at Baylor, Thamba's role has increased since Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua's injury last month, which is something you don't often say for an everyday starter.
But this weekend, almost as much as the one seed brought, playing so close to campus is bringing him joy.
"It's just a good feeling," said Thamba. "More so for my mom, she's always supported me in a lot of ways, just seeing her and the fruits of labor after being away from each other is so special. It's just like 'man we get to celebrate this thing together."
Thamba and the bears were on the practice floor Wednesday ahead of tomorrow's game against Norfolk State.
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