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Sacrificing comfort in an effort to connect with a higher being is a tradition shared by many religions.
Muslims around the world observing Ramadan this month are embracing spirituality and reelection while fasting from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan is celebrated at a different time every year, usually 11 days before it did the year prior. It just so happens that this year Ramadan started in March. That means some Muslims playing NCAA basketball won’t be able to eat before or during their tournament games.
Long Beach State forward Aboubacar Traore is one of those student-athletes, and when asked what his religion means to him, Traore didn’t hesitate in answering.
“In a word, everything.”
Traore, nicknamed Kader, is from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire where he was born into a very religious family, so practicing his religion and fasting is already second nature.
“My religion is what I circle my life around,” Traore said. “Fasting is part of our culture, especially in my family. I started fasting when I was 5-years old. Obviously when I was younger I didn’t really know what it meant, but now I understand that it’s about discipline within yourself and your surroundings.”
Ramadan fasting began last week on the same day LBSU coach Dan Monson found out his contract wouldn’t be renewed at the end of this season. Monson said that he talked to all of his players to make sure they were ok, and one of the most productive conversations was with Traore who had been struggling late in the season.
Monson said, “I just asked him ‘What is going on? Is it you? Is it me? Are you tired?’ He said ‘I’m just not playing well, and you’re showing me this film where I go in and try to force it and shoot, I don’t need to shoot as much and be a passer.’”
“I’ve coached a lot of foreign players, especially African players, and the biggest thing is their feel for the game and their understanding of the game,” Monson continued. “Of all of the African players I’ve coached (Aboubacar) has the best basketball IQ. Even by American standards it’s a high basketball IQ. So I told him, ‘You need to quit coming into games thinking that you need to shoot less or shoot more, or pass less or more, and rely on your instincts and go play. Read the play. If they don’t cut you off you get 30 points and if they do you get 10 assists. Just be you.”
“That’s what I needed to hear,” Traore answered.
Three days later, Traore recorded the first triple-double in Big West Conference Tournament history with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in a 86-67 win over UC Riverside. It’s only the second in LBSU program history after Tyrone Mitchell’s in 1990.
“(Traore) was first team (All-Big West) for a reason, he’s just super valuable,” Monson said. “When (leading scorer Marcus Tsohonis) got his fourth foul (Traore) took the game over at that point. I think that’s where his position is going to be when he goes from Long Beach State to professional leagues.”
That game was Thursday night, and the next day Traore wasn’t eating or drinking anything all day before facing top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals. The junior finished with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while passing 1,000 career points during an 83-79 upset win over the Anteaters.
“I don’t see it as difficult,” Traore said. “I do it with faith. I stay positive about it and it makes everything better for me. When I’m playing I don’t feel like I’m fasting and you don’t see it on the court. I’m just being a regular player.”
The other “regular” LBSU players haven’t spoken much about this, but Traore and Monson confirmed that they haven’t been upset with him about choosing to observe his religion during some of the most important basketball games of their lives.
“They respect him so much that they’re down with whatever he does,” Monson said. “I think it’s lost on them a little bit because they’re not doing it themselves and that’s just the generation.”
Troare said after the Big West Conference tournament win that Monson’s reaction to the news of not coming back to LBSU was a galvanizing moment for he and his teammates.
“He still wanted to win, he wanted to do his job until the end, so we’re going to do the same thing. As a player, when you see that… he’s motivating,” he said. “He’s helped and watched me grow from a boy into a man.”
That familial connection to the Monsons goes beyond the court, and Monson’s wife, Darci, sent Traore food the night before Ramadan began to make sure he was eating as well as he could.
“I didn’t even know that (the Monson family) would remember that I was starting fasting,” Traore said. “There was fried rice, (Darci) knows I love that. And she said ‘Text me to ask if I need anything.’ Long Beach State is not just coach Monson coaching, his whole family is invested too. She is amazing. Thank you, Darci.”
LBSU opens the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against Arizona and the game is at 11 a.m. in Salt Lake City, Utah where Traore won’t be able to eat before, during or after the game.
When asked if he’s nervous that observing his religion will hamper his athletic ability in the biggest game of his career, Traore said, “I’m a little bit (nervous) of course, but I’m not worried about what I’m doing and why I’m fasting.”
READ MORE about Traore and his fellow countryman on the LBSU roster.
