Hamilton Heights basketball player Silas Adheke holds a basketball at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. A son is a reflection of his father. Because of that and despite being more than 9,700 miles from home, 16-year-old Silas Adheke works every day toward following in his father's footsteps to become a provider for his family.
Unlike other kids his age, the sophomore at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy doesn't waste a moment playing video games or repeatedly checking Twitter on his cell phone. Instead his days are filled with schoolwork for seven hours, followed by three hours of afternoon basketball practice and typically even more hours of extra work with coaches to fine-tune his understanding of a game he is still relatively new to.
"Growing up, my parents were very strict against me playing sports," Adheke said. "I would sneak out to play soccer with friends and get into trouble because I was supposed to be concentrating only on academics. After a while my father realized sports is my passion and he became very supportive.
"I always dreamed of coming to the United States to study. When I learned that I could come here to study and play basketball, too, oh, I am so thankful to God for this opportunity."
Three years ago Adheke never had picked up a basketball or seen an indoor court. But after being introduced to the game in his small town of Akute -- near Lagos, the most populous city in Nigeria -- he showed so much natural athletic ability that the game quickly became his path to the better life he dreams of for himself and his family.
Through missionaries with connections to Hamilton Heights, Adheke became one of the 30 international students attending the school.
"A lot of people have helped me get here, so I would like to help others in my home when the time comes," said Adheke, who speaks four languages, carries a 4.0 grade point average and plans to major in engineering in college.
"The average income where I am from is only about $900 per year, so there is a lot of poverty. If God gives me the grace, I will use my achievements not for my own benefit but to develop areas near my home, because I want to invest in other people and be known as a Christian athlete who helps others."
During his first year living in the United States, while battling the pangs of homesickness and adapting to cultural changes that included an introduction to fast food and the struggles of understanding the Southern accent, Adheke's faith and resolve to continue his course were tested. Wanting to update his family on his final exams scores and his plans for a summer of playing AAU basketball in Atlanta, Adheke tried, unsuccessfully, to contact his father.
After more than a week of worrisome silence, he saw a post on his brother's Facebook page announcing their father had died from a sudden illness.
"My mom wouldn't tell me because she didn't want me to lose focus on what I am doing here," Adheke said. "She knew how close I was with my father and that I would want to come back home. All I could think in my mind was 'I will miss you, sweet father.' I prayed for God to help calm me, because I was out of my mind with sadness."
Although the school was able to raise the money for a round-trip ticket to Nigeria, Adheke's family got word to Hamilton Heights administrators that they did not want him to return home for his father's burial.
"His family understands the opportunity he has here, and they were afraid to risk it because some of those governments won't allow kids to leave again once they return home," Hamilton Heights Coach Zach Ferrell said. "There's no retirement plan or health insurance there, so once the family lost their main provider, now they really don't have very much at all.
"But to see Silas stand strong in his faith and believe that his family will be provided for until he can go back and help, that process of how a kid could take a tragic circumstance and still excel and want to help others has been inspiring."
Although his father did not play sports or fully understand the emotional tug that basketball had on his middle son, he paid for Silas to attend a camp to learn the game. He even walked several miles on Christmas Day to come to a tournament Silas was playing in just to watch and bring his son food.
"I was so grateful that he came all that way just to bring me something to eat, because I wouldn't have had anything otherwise," said Adheke, who has not seen his family in more than two years. "He took a picture and watched me play before he went back home. Those are the things I remember about him and how great he was."
On the most talent-laden high school team in the Chattanooga area, the 6-foot-8 Adheke averages nine points and five rebounds per game and is versatile enough to play point guard on occasion. That is a great leap forward for a player who could barely make a layup or even dribble the ball when he arrived in America.
Hamilton Heights basketball player Silas Adheke, center, listens to his teacher during science class.Adheke's talent, hard work and rapid progress caught the eye of college scouts during last summer's AAU circuit. He already is rated one of the nation's top college prospects for the class of 2017 with more than 10 universities, including Georgia Tech, Stanford, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Princeton already recruiting him.
"When you see Silas and how good he is offensively already, man, the sky's the limit," said McCallie coach and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach John Shulman. "He will be able to play anywhere in the country. Get ready, because when his body matures he'll be a man-child. That kid is going to explode nationally."
Both in class and during Sunday church service, Adheke sits on the front row and takes meticulous notes to ensure he continues to honor the importance his parents placed on academics and faith above all else.
"My father taught me how to be disciplined and work for things you want to achieve," Adheke said. "In some of the last conversations we had before I left he told me to always remember where I'm from and who I am, to respect everyone and not to do anything to disgrace my family name.
"I thought I would get to see my father again and even dreamed that one day he would come to America to watch me play. But now I won't, so I have more inspiration to make him and my family proud for the way I play and how well I do in school. I want to achieve great things so I can return home and become the bread-winner for my family that my father was."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.