THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY, FERUARY 11, 2008
SPORTS
7B
BROTHERS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"They are brothers," said their mother, Beth Buford. "They look out for each other and really love each other."
FINDING ALEXIS
Before R.C. and Beth Buford left their San Antonio home for Johannesburg, South Africa, in summer 2004, they gathered their son, Buford, and daughter, C.C., to tell them important news. They were considering adopting one of the boys who would be playing at the NBA's "Basketball Without Borders" camp they'd be attending in Johannesburg.
"I didn't know he was serious";
Buford said about his dad's idea.
R. C. and Beth weren't quite sure either. Adopting a kid was a possibility not a guarantee. That line of thinking changed when they saw a spindly, 6-foot-7 bundle of energy bounce up and down the court without ever losing his smile.
The fun-loving string bean was Wangmeng. He was one of 100 African plavers invited to the camp.
Beth, a former KU golfer, and R.C., a former KU assistant basketball coach and general manager of the San Antonio Spurs, talked with Wangmene, then 15, and loved the kid's smile and how he saw all the positives in life.
Beth and R.C. knew this was someone they could adopt. R.C. thought Wangmene would work hard and make the best of an opportunity to go to school and play basketball in America.
"I just think that being around the world and seeing what great opportunities were provided for me,
I wanted to provide that opportunity
to someone else and share the good-will" R.C. said.
Buford stats
But would Wangmeng want to accept R.C. and Beth's offer? He had a stable life in Maroua, Cameroon, living with his grandmother in a
city that was bigger than his parents' village so he could go to school and play basketball.
"It was a nice routine," Wangmeng said. "Kind of laid-back, not in a hurry."
In. Cameroon.. Wangmene probably wouldn't have been able to have much of a basketball career, but he could've had other things. Wangmene was in line to become chief of his Toupouri tribe. The position would have given him a comfortable life and the opportunity to marry five wives.
"I didn't realize the sacrifice it would take."
ALEXIS WANGMENE Chase Buford's adopted brother
Total Points= 2
Total Minutes= 18
Highlight- Buford scored the only points of his college career when he made a jump shot against Loyola Maryland on Jan. 8.
Wangmene talked to his mom, Germaine, and dad, Teophile, about the decision. Germaine didn't want him to go. Teophile told him he should leave. Wangmene decided that he wanted to leave his simple life in Maroua and move in with the Bufords for a challenge.
"The poor thing was just exhausted," Beth said.
Buford, then a 15-year-old high school sophomore, wasn't sure how to react to the cold, confused kid.
"I didn't realize the sacrifice it would take," Wangmeng said.
"At first," Buford said, "I was like,
'I don't want to have to baby-sit him
all the time."
A STRUGGLE TO INTEGRATE
But it never felt like that for
The Bufords had been back and forth between the airport and R.C.'s parents' house in Wichita all day waiting for Wangmene to arrive on Christmas Eve. He got tied up with visa problems and missed his connecting flight in Atlanta. It didn't help that Wangmene hardly knew a word of English. He could speak only his native French.
He finally arrived.
Finally, at 10 p.m., an underdressed, tall man stepped out of the Atlanta gate, and Buford and his family were ready to meet him.
Buford. He and Wang mene weren't able to go to the same high school at home in San Antonio because of transfer problems for Wang mene, but they spent time together at night and during the weekends.
The first few weeks were tough. Almost all Wangmene could do was say yes and no and communicate through hand signals. He spent a lot of time in his room doing homework and learning English.
"It really was a struggle for me," Wangmene said. "No communication was possible. Imagine not being able to speak at all."
LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER
Buford and Wangmene started to form a bond through basketball in those early days. Although Wangmene had a five-inch size advantage, Buford did whatever he wanted on the court.
"I always killed Alexis in one-on-one," he said. "He was too uncoordinated back then."
Soon the language barrier faded. Wangmene learned how to speak English mainly on his own, but Buford helped out, too. He corrected Wangmene's mistakes and found the best way to help sometimes was by making fun of him.
Wangmene often watched movies to pick up some English. One time, Buford found Wangmene viewing "Win a Date With Tad Hamilton," a no-go for boys.
All of Buford's jokes were out of fun. He and Wangmene were becoming close friends. They spent the summer before their senior years of high school working out at the gym every day and going home to watch World Cup soccer. When the TV matches ended, they'd play each other in FIFA on the Xbox.
said.
On summer nights at friends' houses, it was tough to differentiate Buford from Wangmene. Sure, one was tall and African and the other was American and much shorter, but they did dress alike. Polo, American Eagle, Abercrombie — they wore the same clothes. Wangmene had picked up Buford's taste in fashion, perhaps too much of it.
"He might dress preppier than anyone I know," Bufford said.
The clothes were just the start. Buford introduced him to country music, and Wangmene fell in love with it. He listens to it all the time, especially Rascal Flats.
"There's another embarrassing thing for him," Buford said.
The fashion and music did wonders for Wangmene's love life. Girls started noticing him, but Buford couldn't take credit for that part. He said Wangmene has known how to attract gorgeous women from day one.
Buford missed his brother, but he knew the move was for the better. Buford had helped integrate Wangmene into the American culture, and Wangmene had shown him that a whole different life existed outside San Antonio. He didn't learn too much about Cameroon tribes or other cultural aspects. He learned from getting to know his carefree African brother from a humble background that good people can come from anywhere.
an almost unknown to the No. 81 prospect in the class of 2007. Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegan said the move to New Jersey allowed Wangmene to play against real competition and become a better player. It also gave Mantegan the opportunity to coach the kid who never stopped smiling.
"It's something I'm so grateful could happen to me. I have a brother."
"He definitely opened my eyes to a world I didn't even know," Buford said.
"He's an unbelievable person," Mantegna said, "a way better person than he is a player."
"He's like a big teddy bear," Buford said. "Quiet. I think he plays it off as an act, and they normally fall for him."
Summer 2006 was the last time Buford and Wangmene really got to spend time together. Wangmene was moving to New Jersey to play basketball at Blair Academy for his senior year of high school. The inexperienced, non-English-speaking stick figure who used to get drubbed by Buford in one-on-one had come a long way. He was moving across the country to hone his rapidly improving game for one of the best high school teams in the nation.
CHASE BUFORD Freshman walk-on
There, Wangmene jumped from
Wangmene tried saying a few words of trash talk to his brother, but Buford wouldn't have it.
MEETING TONIGHT
Wangmene's team, after blowing a big lead in the final two minutes, and Buford wasn't too happy. He outscored his brother, but the loss stung.
His Alamo Heights team had just lost to Central Catholic.
"I was so mad," Buford said. "He knew not to talk to me for a while."
That was the only time Buford and Wangmene played each other in high school. Tonight will be the first time their teams meet in college. The stakes will be slightly higher this time with a Big 12 title race on the line.
Wangmene and Buford talked about playing at Texas together, but in the end, Buffold wanted to get
away from home. As fun as it would have been to play on the same team, both are happy with their situations.
Wangmene is averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in about 11 minutes off the bench for the Longhorns. Buford, a walkon, isn't getting the minutes, but Kansas coach Bill Self said he was still improving.
"He's a great teammate," Self said, "and he understands the game. He's not going to impact the game as far as putting him in at crucial times, but he's become a very good practice player and is making the guys better."
The two brothers stay in touch as often as they can through phone calls, text messages or FIFA games. When Wangmene got ejected for throwing an elbow against Texas A&M two weeks ago, Buford was quick to tease him with a text.
Tonight, Wangmene could get significant playing time with his team going against Kansas' tough front line. Bufford likely won't even dress for the game.
People watching on TV or from the stands will probably see Buford behind the bench in street clothes and Wangmene sprinting down the court and have no idea that the two even know each other. They won't know about the FIFA games, the summers at the gym or the crisscrossing of two cultures.
They won't know that these two kids from two different worlds grew together to become real brothers.
"It been an experience I couldn't even imagine," Buford said. "It's something I'm so grateful could happen to me. I have a brother."
Edited by Sasha Roe
Wangmene stats
NFL
Average Points- 2.4
Average Minutes- 10.8
Highlight-Wangmenge scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in a win against St. Mary's, a team that was in the top 25 at the time.
Rookie Adrian Peterson wins MVP
BY BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Quite a way to finish off a rookie season.
HONOLULU — Adrian Peterson stood in front of the car he had just won as MVP of the Pro Bowl. He wiggled the keys, leaned against the red roof and soaked in the acclaim.
Peterson ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, and Terrell Owens made up for early sloppiness with two TD receptions in the NFC's 42-30 comeback victory over the AFC on Sunday.
Offensive Rookie of the Year Peterson's performance was the first of more than 100 yards since Marshall Faulk had 180 and Chris Warren added 127 in 1995. The Minnesota running back joined Faulk as the only rookies to be voted MVP of the Pro Bowl.
"Good company," Peterson said. "We didn't get into the playoffs, so for me to come here and do this at the Pro Bowl means a lot.
"I came with a goal: win the game and be MVP."
"I'm going to keep it" Peterson said, smiling.
And the car?
Owens' 6-yard catch from Tampa
Bay's Jeff Garcia provided the winning points, and Owens knew the new ride could have been sitting in his driveway. Then Peterson added a clinching 6-yard touchdown run to steel the wheels.
"It didn't surprise me," said Owens, who finished with eight catches for 101 yards in a game that often resembled flag football on the beach. "He'll be in Minnesota his whole life and buying a lot of fur coats."
Peterson grew up in Texas, so the Hawaiian weather was more to his taste than the frigid upper Midwest. He had several highlight runs, particularly a 39-yarder on one TD drive, and a 17-yard jaunt down the left sideline for a 28-27 NFC lead early in the third quarter. Four AFC defenders missed him on that touchdown.
"He's like lightning in a bottle," Denver safety John Lynch said. "There's probably a handful of guys that you could say that has it all. And he's got that. He's got a little attitude to him.
was a fake punt, a throwback kickoff return and a handful of fourth-down gambles.
"He's going to wreak havoc in this league for a long time."
One of those was a 34-yard pass to Owens from fellow Cowboy Tony Romo that sparked the comeback. Before that huge play, Owens had a pair of ugly drops that drew boos.
He quickly turned them into cheers.
"it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Owens said.
"That's old hat," added Romo, who had to scramble away from a big pass rush before finding T.O. "We've done that before."
Neither side held back the tricks, to the delight of the sellout crowd of 50,044 at Aloha Stadium. There
"Hopefully they'll continue to play it over here and we will continue to make some highlight plays," he said.
NFC players won $40,000, which Owens said made the trip to the islands even better.
The 48 first-half points tied the Pro Bowl record for the first two periods. The only punt of the half turned into a fake and an 11-yard completion from San Francisco's
On the opening drive, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez set the frenetic pace with completions of 31 and 25 yards around a botched snap that cost the AFC 20 yards. Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, one of 41 newcomers (including injured players) beat Seattle's Marcus Trufant on another 31-yarder before Lorenzo Neal dived from the 1. The San Diego fullback, a 15-year veteran, scored his first Pro Bowl touchdown.
The scoring never abated. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught TD throws of 16 yards from Manning and 1 from Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. The Cincinnati receiver's second score came after Antonio Cromartie, the league's interception leader, returned a tipped pass 56 yards to the AFC 29.
Andy Lee to Minnesota fullback Tony Richardson. After Peterson gained 24 yards on two plays, Romo threw to Larry Fitzgerald, who dived across the goal line to tie it at 7.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson scores a fourth-quarter touchdown for the NFC against the AFC at the Pro Bowl football game in Honolulu Sunday. Peterson was named the Pro Bowl MVP. The NFC defeated the AFC 42-30.
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