Mopa Njila's special night was worth the trip
WORCESTER -- You must understand something from the outset: Vermont forward Germain Mopa Njila will not score 20 points today against Michigan State in the DCU Center. It's also highly unlikely he will drill a nerveless 3-pointer to put his team ahead for good, like he did two nights ago against heavily favored Syracuse in an opening-round shocker in the NCAA Tournament. And the basketball world really will have turned on its ear if he shoots 9 of 10 from the floor again.
"Let's get one thing straight," Vermont coach Tom Brennan cracked yesterday. "Of the nine shots he made, eight of them I didn't want him to take."
There are always unlikely heroes who emerge during the run to the NCAA title, but good luck topping Germain Mopa Njila's splash onto the NCAA Tournament college basketball scene. With his offensive explosion against Syracuse Friday night, Mopa Njila was able to boost his season average to a whopping 6 points a game. That's right. The kid who dropped 20 on the Orange in the biggest game in Vermont history didn't even score that many in three games combined of the America East tournament. He is, after all, a career 42 percent shooter, not to mention a career 23.5 percent 3-point shooter.
He has happily played third (and often fourth) fiddle to pro prospect Taylor Coppenrath and team leader T.J. Sorrentine, who have been the cornerstones of this program for four years. Mopa Njila, too, is a senior, and has contributed greatly to this team with his defensive abilities and superb rebounding. Long before his remarkable performance against Syracuse, Mopa Njila already considered himself the luckiest guy alive. Someone actually paid for his education while he played basketball.
What a country.
"Germain is Eddie Murphy in `Coming to America,' " Brennan said. "You must realize where he's come from. He walks around saying, `Look at what I've got.' He has a tremendous appreciation for all this. He really gets it."
It was never just about basketball for Mopa Njila. How could it be? When his parents told him they were able to send him to a boarding school in Homestead, Fla., instead of continuing his education in his native Cameroon, he was truly grateful. His hope was to become an engineer, and the opportunity to study in the United States was a precious gift from his family.
That is why he did not tell them in the first few months that he was lonely and scared and unsure if he had made the right decision. He struggled to become acclimated in a strange town with unusual customs and few familiar faces. He yearned for his sister's crepes. He longed to stroll down the dirt road that led to the heart of his village and recognize almost every person he encountered.
"It was hard," Mopa Njila said. "I missed my friends, shopping with my family. I spent Christmas without them, and that was very lonely. At the same time, I knew I was living a dream. I knew I had a chance that was too good to pass up."
His sister, who had come to America before him, graduated from American International College in Springfield and moved to Amherst. Eager to be closer to her, Mopa Njila signed on for a year of prep school at The Master's School in West Simsbury, Conn. He drew limited interest from Division 2 schools, who were intrigued by his intelligence, agility, and basketball energy, but only one Division 1 school seemed truly committed: Vermont.
"We liked him for his athleticism," Brennan explained. "We didn't have anyone like him. And he was such a bright kid. I thought he'd be perfect for us."
Now even a kid from Cameroon knew enough about the harsh New England winters to wonder about the upside of going to school in Burlington, Vt.
"At first, I didn't want to go," Mopa Njila said. "People said it was cold -- and far. But I was already so far from home that didn't really matter.
"I went to visit in October. It was 80 degrees outside. Coach [Brennan] told me it was like that all the time."
The charismatic Brennan was persistent. Before he knew what was happening, Mopa Njila signed on to be a Catamount. The first morning he woke up on campus and realized it was 28 below zero, he undoubtedly cursed Brennan in his native Cameroon village tongue.
"I told Germain, `When you graduate, I'm going to buy you the nicest topcoat anyone from Cameroon has ever had,' " Brennan said. "And I will."
If Mopa Njila had trouble adjusting to life at UVM, he's hidden it well. He is popular among his teammates and students on campus, for his boundless enthusiam, and a smile that is both striking and illuminating. Although the official language in Cameroon is French, Mopa Njila already spoke excellent English when he came to America, so communication was not an issue.
"Honestly, I don't think it was that much of an adjustment for him," said senior guard David Hehn. "It's such a relaxed atmosphere in Vermont, and he didn't have any trouble making friends.
"That's the thing about him. He always walks around with this huge smile on his face. What happened to him [against Syracuse] couldn't have happened to a better person."
The fact that Mopa Njila is a student-athlete in every sense of the word must be comforting to an NCAA committee that must cringe every time Cincinnati and its 0 percent graduation rate advances another round closer to the Final Four. Mopa Njila loves the game, but he's never lost sight of the fact his degree is his end game.
"When we lost to Arizona [in the 2003 NCAA Tournament], they brought us back home on Mick Jagger's plane," Brennan said. "We had gotten all messed up with the weather getting there, so they flew us home on this jet that Mick Jagger and [Bruce] Springsteen and the Yankees had used.
"There was this big round chair in the middle of plane, and Germain was sitting in it, studying. I said to him, `C'mon, man, you're supposed to have a cocktail waitress on your lap, not a chemistry book. This is supposed to be a party plane.' "
Mopa Njila's time in Burlington is running short, which is why he asked his mother, Rose Tchoupouen, to visit him in his second home. Because the Cameroon government limits how long its citizens can stay abroad, Mopa Njila's mother was torn between seeing her son play and seeing him receive his degree in May. The government ultimately allowed her to come to Vermont in February, with permission to stay through May for graduation.
"One of the greatest moments ever was seeing his mom at Senior Night," Brennan said. "The only problem was I think there are about 15 verses to the Cameroon national anthem. It took the air out of us, to be honest."
Before Friday night, Mopa Njila's career high was 15 points. But with Coppenrath swallowed up by Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone, the Catamounts knew they would have to generate offense elsewhere. Mopa Njila was not exactly highlighted on the Orange's scouting report, so he figured, why not me?
"Going into the game, Coach had told us that Syracuse doesn't give up a lot of open shots," Mopa Njila said. "I figured if I'd have an open shot, I'd take it. And that's what I did.
"I usually give up a lot of shots. With Taylor inside, he's such a great scorer that I turn down shots because I know it's better for him to get the ball."
The game plan will be different today against Michigan State. Coppenrath is likely to get more looks, and you can expect him to revert to form and submit his usual 25 points and nine rebounds. That will likely mean Germain Mopa Njila will also revert to form and resume his role as a cat-quick defender and rebounder, who will pick up a basket here and there.
But no one will ever be able to erase the night of his life, on March 18, 2005, when German Mopa Njila lifted his team -- and himself -- to heights neither dared to imagine.
Rose Tchoupouen was in the building to watch that magical moment. She embraced her son following the victory, and gave a hug to Brennan for good measure. Asked what Brennan would be called if he lived in their Cameroon village, Mopa Njila answered, "We would call him `aporna.' It means, `happy guy.' "
Guess that makes two of them.
Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.
