Memphis basketball's Karim Sameh Azab a 6-foot-11 mystery from Egypt

Mark Giannotto | Memphis Commercial Appeal

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The sweat dripped from Karim Sameh Azab’s forehead as he walked around the University of Memphis campus Friday, and a question about the weather prompted the 6-foot-11 Egyptian to reflect on what he left behind to chase his college basketball dreams.

Though the summer temperatures are often hotter in Giza, Egypt, than Memphis this time of year, the humidity is far worse here than the desert climate on the west bank of the Nile River. But the memories of where Azab came from, even something as simple as the sweltering heat, are beginning to fade.

“I really can’t remember. I haven’t been home in three years,” he said. “You can’t be thinking about stuff like that. You’ve got to keep your head up and just keep going.”

This narrow focus has served Azab well during a turbulent journey. He is the tallest member of the Memphis men’s basketball team and, at this point, also its biggest mystery.

He didn’t arrive at Memphis until October, a week after preseason practices began, and NCAA eligibility issues forced him to miss the entire 2016-17 season. During that time, the 20-year-old dropped 40 pounds and developed a reputation as the team’s hardest worker.

How exactly that translates to the court is mostly unknown, even to those within the program. Though he’s technically not one of the Tigers’ seven new players on the roster, Azab is likely the most inexperienced. He only began playing organized basketball four years ago, right as political strife gripped Giza, and admits his senior year of high school is the only time he completed a full season on the hardwood.

But there is hope Azab’s circuitous route to get here is only just the beginning.

“He’s the most committed kid I’ve seen in a long time,” Memphis coach Tubby Smith said in April. “Let’s face it. He has no one. He needs to get home and see his family.”

‘Come here and learn’

Greg Jones’ path to becoming Azab’s legal guardian in the United States began with a photo.

The player development coach from northwest Indiana was known for helping shepherd African basketball players to the United States and saw a picture of Azab with the Egyptian national team that won a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 championship in Madagascar.

“He’s got these massive legs and I was like, ‘OK, who’s this?” Jones said. “I’d never heard of him.”

That’s because until recently Azab had been a swimmer. He was only about a year into making the transition from the pool to the hardwood.

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Initially, he was “horrible” and simply enjoyed playing a team sport because he was an only child. But given his size and the fact that, “he’s one of the most flexible human beings I’ve seen in my life,” according to Jones, Azab quickly showed glimpses of talent.

More significantly, he realized this could be the way to a new life, and perhaps provide something more for a household whose only income came from his father’s job as a cab driver in Giza.

By the time the FIBA Africa championship ended, and Azab averaged 5.7 points and 5.4 rebounds during the tournament, Jones wasn’t the only suitor trying to lure him to the United States.

It seemed an obvious move considering the circumstances in Egypt, where the fallout from the political unrest of the Arab Spring continued. Azab remembers days when he couldn’t leave home because of the violence outside and the nights when the entire neighborhood would congregate in the same place — strength in numbers with no formal police force anymore.

“His parents didn’t want him there anymore,” Jones said. “They wanted him to get away.”

So in the middle of the 2014-15 basketball season, Azab arrived to attend Pace Academy in Carrboro, N.C., and play for Bull City Prep just outside Chapel Hill. On the plane ride over, his mind raced with excitement.

What was the United States really like, he wondered. His imagination was based off what he’d seen in movies.

“I just wanted to come here and just experience USA basketball and learn even just from playing in the streets with random kids in the park,” Azab said. “I just wanted to come here and learn.”

His education on the nomadic American grassroots basketball system came quickly.

By August 2015, Pace Academy had its charter revoked and closed. Azab nonetheless became the first Egyptian to play in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League with Team CP3, which is sponsored by Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Paul. He was the backup to touted recruit Harry Giles, who ended up at Duke and will likely be a first-round draft pick in the NBA draft on Thursday.

In the fall of 2015, Azab transferred to Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago for his senior year and moved in with Jones. Though Azab averaged just 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds while reaching the state tournament, Jones said schools such as Indiana, Georgia Tech and Saint Louis showed interest.

Azab chose Memphis because of Smith’s reputation for nurturing unheralded players. But the Tigers were also the only program still pursuing him once the NCAA flagged his initial paperwork, a sign of the issues he would deal with in the coming months.

‘Crash course in life’

Smith’s favorite story involving Azab happened this past April when the two went to lunch on campus together and the students behind the counter already knew Azab's order — a salad topped with tuna.

It’s part of the regimen that allowed Azab to lose almost 40 pounds since coming to Memphis last fall.

“At first, it looked impossible,” Azab said. “I was 294 (pounds). I couldn’t run up and down the court.”

But in addition to a new diet, which features daily lunches at Subway, Azab became a fixture on the treadmill and stairmaster after practice at the Larry Finch Center. Teammates and coaches marvel at his physique now, senior Jimario Rivers said, because “it’s just unbelievable how hard he’s working.”

Azab credits former roommate Markel Crawford, who transferred to Ole Miss this offseason, for being "like a big brother" and becoming a role model for how he needed to work.

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Getting in games, however, proved more complicated. First, Azab endured visa issues and arrived at Memphis late. Then, the NCAA questioned whether he graduated from an Egyptian high school before coming to the United States. Once Jones sent his transcripts, the NCAA began an investigation into Azab’s amateur status.

Jones said it’s the first time he encountered such problems with an African transplant. But the NCAA eventually ruled Azab should lose a year of eligibility despite never appearing in a game as a freshman at Memphis. He will be classified as a sophomore this season, although Memphis can still appeal the NCAA’s decision.

“He’s had a crash course in life,” Jones said. “But he’s one of those balls of energy that you come across in life that you can’t help but like because he does it in the right way. He wants everyone to be happy.”

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The hardest part for Azab was watching from the sideline. Not only does Smith believe his size and soft touch around the basket could have helped last year’s Tigers, Azab knew he needed the experience. But he isn’t focused on that anymore, not with his immediate goals within reach.

Azab is hopeful he can secure a visa to return to Egypt later this summer and see his family, who he mostly communicates with through Facebook. He’s also only months away from making his college basketball debut.

Reminded of this, he launches into a story about the first basketball games he watched upon arriving in the United States almost three years ago.

“My body and my skill set was nothing near now and I was just looking at the TV, just thinking like, ‘Would I be there? Would I be able to do this?’ ” Azab said. “And it actually happened, so I have to take full advantage of it. I’m just really excited to play.”