Ron Mvouika and St. John’s had just beaten Wagner when the coaching staff told him the news.

There had been terrorist attacks in Paris, France, where Mvouika was born and raised.

“It’s very sad,” Mvouika said. “That’s the type of stuff that happens that you can’t really control. It’s sad to see something like that happen in my city. It touched me.”

While the guard said that none of his family members were injured in the attacks, he knows of several friends who were affected.

“I checked my phone to see if everyone was okay,” Mvouika said. “I was lucky enough that nobody close got hit.”

The Frenchman dedicated his next game, a Red Storm victory, to the victims. He scored 16 points.

Mvouika’s entire family is still living in Paris, 25 minutes away from one of the bombsites, where he was raised in what he called “the other side of Paris.” The fifth-year senior used basketball at an early age to help him stay away from the “hood.” And it’s the same game that’s brought him to St. John’s in the biggest city in the world.

“Basketball was a way for me to get out of there and do something positive,” Mvouika said. “Not a lot of people make it out.”

The hopes of playing in the United States has always been there for Mvouika, who is the third-leading scorer for the Red Storm. As a kid, his hero was Michael Jordan and his dream was to play in the NBA.

Mvouika came to the U.S. to play at Huntington (West Virginia) Prep for his senior year of high school. He then played two years of junior college ball at Sheridan in Wyoming and another at Missouri State before missing the next due to a back injury.

With one season of eligibility left, Mvouika knew where he wanted to spend it.

“You have Coach Mullin, Madison Square Garden and the city of New York,” Mvouika said. “(St. John’s) is filled with tradition and history. I mean just look at the jerseys up there like it was just easy.”

Mvouika said that everything is different for him this season, but he’s loved the transition. Transferring from a town in Springfield, Missouri, to the “bright lights” of New York City, everything is on a bigger scale for him from tougher competition and increased media coverage to the capacity of arenas he plays in.

On Sunday, St. John’s will welcome Syracuse to the Garden and Mvouika will have another chance to play the game that’s kept him safe, a chance he’s grateful for.

It’ll be a far different environment in the world’s most famous arena compared to the one in the mourning city he’s left behind.

“This is the world we live in.” Mvouika said. “… You just send your prayers up and you keep on pushing.”

Published on December 11, 2015 at 7:20 pm

Contact Jack: jfupton@syr.edu