Alfred Aboya had never seen snow.
Clad in flip-flops and shorts, the 18-year-old unfolded his 6-foot-8 frame from the confines of the minivan that transported his life to the grounds of the Tilton School in New Hampshire, landing him on a prep school campus covered in a white blanket of winter weather.
He took his first step into the cold white powder and gazed around at the red brick turrets and tree-lined quads – scenery starkly contrasting to the high-rise buildings and crowded streets he left behind in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Aboya had already come a long way, but he could never imagine this was only the first step on a journey that would bring him to compete for UCLA before playing professionally on three different continents.
Members of the Tilton School men’s basketball team stood ready to meet their new teammate as coach Scott Willard and head of school Jim Clements looked on with a mix of excitement and anxiety, unsure of how their calculated risk would pan out, Willard said.
Aboya’s journey all started with a photograph and a transcript – simple documents that told a complex story.
Willard opened his inbox one day in 2003 to find a picture of Aboya clearly illustrating his size and strength on the basketball court – a snapshot of the young Cameroonian soaring for a dunk. Accompanying the image was a straight-A report card showcasing Aboya’s commitment to his academics, which completed the portrait of a quintessential student-athlete.
“We didn’t so much recruit him as much as he landed in our mailbox,” Willard said. “It was a conversation that I had once I received it with our head of school. You know, do we ever want to think about considering bringing a kid in from overseas and really giving him the opportunity at better life? It wasn’t a basketball decision at all.”
Although the young basketball player already completed high school, he decided to attend Tilton as a junior in order to secure a chance to play for an American university, achieving both his dream of traveling the world through basketball and acquiring a high level education.
Aboya spoke five languages, but not one of them was English. He interviewed for his spot at Tilton in French with the help of a bilingual admissions director and arrived on campus with culture shock and a language barrier.
“I tried to accustom myself to the culture, the language and the place – New Hampshire is an interesting place,” Aboya said. “But the kindness of people … (was) a big help.”
From his first snowy day at Tilton, Aboya began to make an impact. He started off by going door-to-door throughout his dormitory, shaking hands and introducing himself as the new neighbor. While Aboya’s transition to his new life wasn’t without its challenges – he struggled to keep down his first week of meals due to his lack of familiarity with American cuisine – he soon began to thrive in his new environment.
When Aboya left Tilton two years later, he left behind a legacy of success after leading Tilton to its first New England championship and carving a path for future international students to follow.
“The school at the time had never won a championship, and we certainly never had anyone come from overseas to play,” Willard said. “Since then, that’s changed and (Aboya) was really one of the players who got that going since he came over and was really a success.”
Aboya’s successful prep school career was enough for him to gain recognition from prestigious basketball programs, including the likes of Georgetown and UCLA. Fellow Cameroonian and Bruin recruit Luc Mbah a Moute influenced Aboya’s decision to leave New Hampshire for California, contributing to the sense of comfort Aboya said he felt in Westwood.
There was little lull from Aboya’s success at Tilton to his collegiate career, as UCLA reached the Final Four in each of his first three seasons. Aboya established himself as an impressive defensive player, graduating as a member of the 2009 Pac-10 All-Defensive Team and the class with the most wins in UCLA history after helping coach Ben Howland win two Pac-10 titles in three years.
“UCLA was a big stepping stone for me, a big foundation that allowed me to live a better life than I might have been able to,” Aboya said.
Aboya pursued a better life from the time he was 14, back in Yaoundé. He played soccer throughout his youth but only picked up basketball as a teenager.
“When I started playing basketball I caught up pretty rapidly,” Aboya said. “I made my national team, and then I started having dreams, like maybe this could take me outside the country, overseas and that’s what happened.”
Undrafted out of UCLA, Aboya played in the 2009 National Basketball Association Summer League for the Dallas Mavericks before the Olympique Antibes acquired him that October, bringing his talents to the French National League.
Aboya went on to compete in the Japan Basketball League, the Venezuelan National Basketball League and the Turkish Basketball Second League.
The former Bruin then returned stateside to play for the NBA Development League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Reno Bighorns and the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
“He always had a great smile on his face … whether we had lost ten games or won ten games he always had a smile on his face,” said D-fenders assistant coach Jermaine Byrd. “He was always uplifted, always professional and that’s what I’ll remember about him.”
Over half a decade into his professional career, Aboya requested to be waived from the D-Fenders on Jan. 28 so he could return home to Yaoundé.
When Alfred Aboya first left his hometown in Cameroon, he had never seen snow.
Now returning to Yaoundé over a decade later, Aboya has seen the world. While the basketball player said he has every intention of returning to the game, he now looks to share the world he experienced with other young Cameroonians in possession of a similar dream.