Aingar William (10) shoots a jump shot for TKA against Catholic’s Blue Cain (right) and Akeem Odusipe (34) in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By DAVE LINK
Aingar William has experienced a lot of firsts in his life since moving from Africa to The King’s Academy in Seymour on July 1, 2019.
He ate his first steak.
He had his first Frosty from Wendy’s.
He caught his first fish.
He learned to swim.
He went to Walmart.
He watched NFL.
He got fluent in English.
He played his first organized basketball game.
And the list goes on.
“I like everything here,” William said, his accent French. “The food is different, the weather is good, the school and basketball are different.”
William, 18, stands out in a crowd. He is 7-feet tall and 230 pounds. His journey from the small town of N’Djamena in Chad, Africa, to the United States and The King’s Academy was long and circuitous.
His ticket was basketball.
LIFE IN AFRICA
Aingar William was born on Feb. 16, 2002, and raised by his mother, Madelyn. His father died when Aingar was a year old. He has a sister who supported the family financially while he was growing up, although she lived about an hour away.
Aingar lived only with his mom. Religion has been a big part of their lives.
“I’ve been born in a Christian family,” William said. “I grew up in church. I’ve been a Christian all my life. My family is Christian, my mom is a Christian. She’s a strong believer.”
They got by in harsh conditions, starting with the searing heat.
Aingar and his mom usually ate one meal a day – rice and beans and maybe some chicken. They would sometimes go several days without eating.
Aingar began playing soccer at a young age along with most other children in the town. All they needed was a soccer ball. They often played barefoot.
“Aingar is phenomenal with the soccer ball,” said Matt Mercer, TKA president and boys’ basketball coach. “He can do all kinds of juggling stuff, and he can score from midfield.
“This guy (in Chad) saw him play soccer and was a basketball guy. He told Aingar he needed to start playing basketball and that would be his ticket. Aingar listened and started training with this guy.”
William was introduced to basketball a little more than 2 years ago.
And the nearest basketball court to his home was about an hour away by walking.
GETTING TO THE UNITED STATES
William met a man named Anicet Lavodrama – a native of Chad who played college basketball in the U.S. and professionally in Europe – and Anicet was instrumental in getting William to the United States.
Anicet met William through a charity basketball camp and contacted some people he knew in the West Tennessee, and those people recommended that William apply to The King’s Academy.
Then more help came to William.
Aingar William and NBA Africa representative Yolam Anderson.
A young Canadian lady named Yolam Anderson, whose father was originally from Chad, was working as an intern for the Toronto Raptors. For her internship, Anderson’s project was to go to Chad, hold a basketball charity camp, and identify a player she could get to attend the NBA’s youth camp called “Giants of Africa,” which is part of the NBA’s “Without Borders” program.
Anderson chose Aingar William.
“They connected,” Mercer said. “Aingar’s just got an affectionate personality. You’re just sort of drawn to him.”
Mercer said Anicet was the biggest advocate for getting William to TKA once William had been accepted to the school.
“He was like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta get him out,’ ” Mercer recalls, “ ‘If he’s not out in 15 days, his opportunity would run out.’ ”
TKA boarding students were not supposed to get on campus until Aug. 1 of 2019, but William arrived a month early.
Mercer and his son, then-12-year-old Cameron, went to the Atlanta airport on July 1 to pick up William, but arrived about 3 hours late due to traffic.
By the time they arrived, William’s cell phone was dead, and there was no way for Mercer to contact him. Mercer drove to the pick-up terminal, spotted William about 30 yards away, and had to wake Cameron up to run and get the 7-footer from a crowd.
“My wife (Angie) would have killed me, but here goes my son running down the airport sidewalk in a large group of people,” Mercer said. “I knew he reached Aingar because I could see Aingar having a puzzled look on his face, and here they both come.”
On the way back to Seymour, William had his first Wendy’s Frosty. William finally arrived at his new home on the TKA campus, and for the next month, his dormitory was empty except for William and a few staff members.
SETTLING IN
Mercer, who started as president at The King’s Academy on July 1, 2018, became a big part of William’s life along with Angie Mercer and the couple’s three children.
The Mercer family lives in a house on the TKA campus (the home is reserved for the school president). Angie Mercer fixed William breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day last July. The Mercers call William “Gar.”
“We were able to connect with Aingar on a deeper level and allow him to experience things he had never experienced because the whole month of July, Aingar was the only student on campus,” Mercer said.
Aingar and Cameron Mercer had a special connection.
Cam Mercer introduces Aingar William to video games.
“They were like brothers,” Mercer said. “They even started calling each other ‘brother’. He was teaching Cameron and my two other kids French. Then Cameron was helping him getting better at English.”
It was a summer of discovery for William.
He went fishing for the first time at Boyd’s Creek and caught his first fish. Mercer taught William how to swim in a pool. William saw fireworks for the first time on July 4.
“That was good,” William said. “I got to experience summer in the United States.”
William even booted a 45-yard field goal in his first-ever attempt – wearing tennis shoes – witnessed by Mercer and TKA football coach Jonathan Sellers.
Once the boarding students arrived and school started, William became well known around campus – and not just for his height.
“All the kids on campus love him,” Mercer said, “because he’s got a great smile and a pleasant spirit.”
HIS FIRST BASKETBALL SEASON
William broke his finger in preseason and was cleared to play with a wrap, although he had trouble catching the ball at times. (Mercer says he’s playing better currently now that his finger has healed).
During the 2019-20 season, William averaged eight points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks as TKA’s boys went 12-16.
William’s average playing time was about half-a-game due to foul trouble and fouling out.
“He would get beat to death on the inside,” Mercer said. “That was sort of the MO of the other team. When he would get physical at all, he’s such a big guy, he would get quick fouls called on him.
“A lot of it is him learning how to adjust to organized basketball and what are things that are easily called a foul.”
Aingar William (22) and The King’s Academy Lions defended their home court with a 67-53 win over the Gibbs Eagles on Christdel Corporation Courts in Seymour, Tennessee, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
William said basketball in Africa is much different than in the U.S.
“Here, they protect the offensive player a lot,” he said. “In Africa, it’s not about offense, it’s about the defense. It’s really hard over there. The way I play over there, if I want to play (like that) here, I cannot play. I play like five minutes in the game, and they kick me out.”
Mercer recalls William telling him last summer how much his former coach in Chad stressed defense.
“(William) said, ‘We say no easy baskets in Africa. If someone scores, they must suffer,’” Mercer said.
Thus, William learned staunch defense in Chad that was not allowed in TKA games this past season.
“Our coach over there, he used to say everybody can play offense, but if you want to play, you need to play defense,” William said. “If you don’t play defense, you are not going to play.
“He really focused on defense, but here it’s different. They’ll call a foul for nothing. Even if you do nothing, they are going to call a foul. And with my size, my size doesn’t help me. They feel sorry for those (smaller) guys.”
AINGAR’S FUTURE
William plans to play college basketball and is already getting interest from Division I schools such as UNC-Asheville and Radford.
Academically, William thrived in his first year at TKA.
Mercer said William made As and Bs with a heavy course load that included Geometry, Physics, and English as a second language. William, who already spoke fluid French, is now fluid in English, speaks some Arabic, and knows about eight tribal languages in Chad.
“In life and basketball, he’s thriving,” Mercer said. “I think it’s a perfect fit for him.”
Aingar William gets swimming lessons from TKA boys basketball coach Matt Mercer.
William planned to play for BMaze Elite this summer but due to the coronavirus AAU and UnderArmour basketball have either been cancelled or postponed.
However, William has been to some highly controlled workouts with other BMaze players starting last week after spending the offseason in a strength and performance training program under TKA strength coach Lincoln Thomas.
“He’s actually much more athletic than he even was, and he was pretty athletic when he came here,” Mercer said “But Lincoln’s gotten him more flexible, more balanced, more coordinated, and he just keeps growing at his game. We’re trying to keep him getting better at the inside game, but also knowing that he needs to have a full skillset.
“I’m teaching him to shoot from outside. He said in Africa, if you’re a big guy, you don’t shoot from outside.”
Mercer has no doubt William will play college ball and that some program “is going to get a gem of a player because he’s so driven.”
William has more goals beyond college and perhaps pro basketball. He wants to be a pastor.
And he wants to be a Christian pastor back home in Chad.
“Africa is my home,” William said. “My plan now is to play college ball, and I don’t know what the future holds. I’ll go back one day.
“I’ve got my family, I’ve got my friends, I’ve got everybody over there.”
📷 @GamePointMedia 6’11 Aingar William highlight mix against CAK #TKATough @prepxtra @5StarPreps @PrepHoopsTN @Tnprephoops @TDT_Sports pic.twitter.com/g8EoxRa4Ts
— TKA Lions BB (@TKALionsBB) January 10, 2020