Shortly after graduating from the University of Oregon, Marshall Cho journeyed to New York City on a Teach for America assignment. And it was here, in the Basketball Mecca, where Cho (a former varsity hoops captain in high school) had a roundball revelation. While coaching 8th grade kids at his appointed middle school in the Bronx that winter, he discovered that the game was more than mere Xs-and-Os — it was a vehicle for forging relationships and creating wholesome connections with ballplayers whose backgrounds starkly contrast your own.

Marshall eventually followed his wife to Africa, who was there completing some philanthropic work. To sate his hoops addiction, he erected a hoop in his backyard and kids from his ‘hood visited in droves, galvanized by the pebbled ball’s pitter-patter on the dirt court. Many showed up daily, eager to learn, most of them playing without shoes. This prompted Cho into action, and well, he didn’t stop. Over the next three years, he worked collaboratively with Hoops4Hope, Basketball Without Borders, and constructed courts in Xai Xai and Maputo, Mozambique.

Hit the jump to learn more about Marshall’s philanthropic efforts in Africa.

What outdoor court did you claim growing up?

Across the street from where I grew up in Springfield, Oregon, was Meadow Park, which not only had a basketball court, but a tennis court, baseball field, and tons of running space for soccer and other sports. My family and I immigrated to the U.S. back in 1986, and I had grown up in Korea playing soccer and baseball as my favorite sports. I started playing basketball for the first time in the 4th grade and spent many following years pretending to be Kenny Anderson (his G. Tech days) or one of the TrailBlazers (Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, and even Kevin Duckworth! RIP).

Coaching at the Bela Rosa Court in Bela Rosa, Mozambique

You studied in the Business/Accounting field at Oregon. How’d you end up coaching kids in the Bronx?

Before the coaching came the teaching. And before the teaching, I’d have to confess that I was one of the worst Accounting students in the Lundquist College of Business at Oregon. I applied to the Teach For America program after coming across one of their brochures in the University of Oregon career center, while waiting for an interview for an accountant position with Intel. I was placed the following year in one of the most challenging middle schools in the South Bronx, and am convinced I would not have survived those early days had it not been for the connections I was able to make with the kids through basketball. My first coaching gig also did not last very long in those early days in the Bronx, as many of them ended up being academically ineligible and the first season was cut short after our second game. I also cut the one kid who is now going to Kent State on a basketball scholarship (shout out to Greg!) so needless to say my ability to forecast potential needed a lot of work. I had more success a few years later, when I was teaching at a high performing charter school in Harlem and was fortunate to have my school director sign up our school team for the NYC Charter School League.

All smiles in Bela Rosa, Mozambique.

What prompted you to take your basketball jones to Africa?

I followed my wife out there. That would be the short answer. She had accepted a fellowship working as a youth reproductive health advisor. I should also say that I got in touch with my inner basketball jones out in Africa. I had by this point, realized that basketball was a powerful tool to reach young people and influence them in a positive way. But I didn’t realize that I could pursue a career using basketball until meeting many friends at the NBA sponsored Basketball Without Borders camp. Prior to moving to Mozambique in August of 2006, I found out that the BWB camp would be held in Johannesburg, only a 5-6 hour drive from Mozambique. I made a handful of cold calls, and sent out e-mails, only to be shut out. I was fortunate to have Brooks Meek, Director of international operations at the NBA, give me a shot as a junior coach, working in the rebounding/blocks station with B.J. Johnson (scout for the rockets), Dikembe Mutombo, and Manute Bol! Meeting Mutombo, I was definitely inspired by what he was doing for his native Congo… building a hospital there and rallying around other NBA players to get involved in helping Africa. I knew there was a small part I could do to help in Mozambique once I returned following the camp.

You spent time in Zimbabwe and Mozambique coaching and mentoring with not-for-profit Hoops 4 Hope. How’d you become involved with them?

I was first exposed to Hoops 4 Hope while at the Basketball Without Borders camp. There was a group from H4H teaching life skills and lessons of HIV/AIDS using basketball in a way I had never seen before. Not only were the campers completely engaged, but they were walking away with messages that as leaders and role models returning to their native countries, they so needed to hear. As I learned more about the organization, I was impressed that they were able to reach so many young people on such a shoestring budget. It was in the truest sense, a grassroots organization. I’m not articulate enough to do justice to the kind of impact they have had in Zimbabwe and in Cape Town, South Africa.

In Africa, kids are playing without shoes and uniforms. Did the lack of proper attire and equipment temper their enthusiasm and approach towards learning the many nuances of the game?

The first year I lived in Africa, I had put together a basketball court in my backyard, on a dirt court, where at one point I had about 40-50 kids showing up daily to play ball, most of them barefooted.

Aside from my embarrassing attempts at showing up my 10-12 year old counterparts, it should be noted that majority of these kids had never played basketball prior to showing up at my house. I think it’s easy to get enthusiasm from the kids… the game sells itself. But for them to pick up the nuances of using their teammates, moving without the ball, finding open spaces on the court without being able to make moves off the dribble, was something truly remarkable. Of course, their background in soccer also made the transition easier. I do daydream about making the next team I coach spend the first week of practice on a dirt court such as the one I had in Xai Xai.

How does the basketball skill set players have compare between the States and Mozambique? Can they compare, or are kids overseas much more unfinished?

It’s unfair to expect kids to be able to pass, dribble, and shoot when they hold 2 hour practices while sharing 1 or 2 balls amongst 20-40 kids. But in the capital city of Maputo, where there are a handful of clubs that have invested in the resources (meaning, basketballs) necessary to hold a proper practice, you can see that it’s not a far off fantasy that you’ll see skilled players coming out of Mozambique and other parts of Africa. In fact, the women’s basketball team in Mozambique consistently finishes in the top 4 in the continent of Africa and has some of the most fundamentally sound players I’ve ever come across.

Team photo at Xai-Xai.

You’ve refurbished courts in Xai Xai and Maputo, Mozambique and recently constructed a court in Bela Rosa, Mozambique. How’d you acquire the necessary funds to assemble each court and what were some of the unique (and there were many of them, I’m sure) challenges you encountered along the way?

The first court I rehabilitated came through with the help of a matching grant program at AIG that a good friend of mine, Brian Shahum had initiated. I had mentioned to him an idea of building a court in Xai Xai, after my visit to a Hoops 4 Hope program in Zimbabwe and getting a chance to conduct a clinic for them at a court that Bobbito had helped fund. I hope I don’t come across as using this interview as an opportunity to name drop my friends into bouncemag.com, but I sincerely believe that it should be a recurring theme in the interview. I’ve been fortunate to have friends who believed in what I was doing more than I myself did. My experience with Brian is a perfect case in point. It began with him sending a few boxes of donated jerseys, whistles, and random school supplies. But as I shared about the need for a real basketball court for the kids playing in my backyard, Brian took the initiative to fundraise among his friends and family and raised $3000, which AIG also matched, bringing a total I had to work with to $6000.

The biggest challenge I faced in the Xai Xai court rehab as well as the Bela Rosa was finding trustworthy contractors who weren’t going to fudge the estimates to pocket the money allocated for the courts. In both cases, I had the good fortune of finding contractors I was able to work closely with to make sure that every penny was going into the court. The most frustrating part was the time it took to find such people.

For the Bela Rosa court, it was a much bigger project and I had applied for a grant through the U.S. Embassy, close to $10,000. I was short by about $3000 an another friend, Marty Conlon, came through with the funds at the last minute. They recently held an inauguration ceremony this week, in conjunction with a Sports Envoy visit by Tracy Murray and Teresa Edwards.

Rain can’t stop ‘em! In Bela Rosa.

Did the conflicting politicking over there play a role?

The politicking can be an issue when you’re dealing with a public space, such as a school yard, where the Bela Rosa court was located. The biggest challenge was making sure to communicate with all the community leaders surrounding the courts for their buy in blessings on the project. In both cases, having a strong, local community leader with a good reputation was key in helping the process move forward.

My experience with Africa is limited to a few disconcerting images and articles in National Geographic and the always-poignant commercials from the Christian Children’s Fund. Is the gamut of problematic issues such as AIDS, poor dental care, lack of education, etc. as pervasive as many make it out to be?

I should begin answering this question by pointing out that my experience with “Africa” was limited to the 3 years I spent in “Mozambique”. I can speak with confidence on what my experience was like in living in a rural area of Xai Xai, my first year and the two years following in the relatively cosmopolitan Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. I couldn’t comment with the same authority on the horrible things taking place in Darfur or the political struggles of the good people in Zimbabwe.

Often times, I find myself being cautious in talking about my experience in Africa in the same way I am when talking about the 6 years I spent living on 118th & Lenox in Harlem. I’m assuming you have spent a good chunk of time in Harlem covering basketball so perhaps you can relate to the disconnect you feel when people assume the worst about Harlem based on it’s dated reputation. It’s not that we’re ignorant of the issues that long time residents of Harlem have lived through and are living through (HIV/AIDS, underperforming schools, etc.) but I think we need to do a better job of highlighting the positives that take place in that community on a daily basis by people who are fighting the good fight.

If someone wants to get involved in helping nurture Africa’s developing hoops scene or, what are some good preliminary steps to take?

Obviously, I’m a bit biased on the good work Hoops 4 Hope has been doing out in Zimbabwe, Mozmabique, and South Africa as well as those who have taken steps to help from the stateside with shoes drives, and other fundraising initiatives. I know that one of their challenges every year is finding the funding to ship all the donated items over to Africa. A lot of people may not realize that it costs around $10 to ship a pair of donated shoes once all the container cost, logistics, and distribution are accounted for. They have a campaign going on Global Giving and it would be a huge boost for them to obtain a permanent status on the GlobalGiving website.

The other organization I have a great respect for and personal experience with is SEEDS Academy, founded by Amadou Gallo Fall, in Senegal. It’s an organization that is trying to make a leap from serving a small group of student/athletes, to building a full-scale school that will be a model for other countries to follow. Another initiative they have started recently started, Grow the Game, focuses on sending NBA/U.S. ambassadors to rural areas in Senegal to teach the game and life skills. And on the flip side, bringing coaches from Senegal to do a 3 week tour in the U.S. to learn about all aspects of the game, from business management to running a full fledged camp to youth development training.

In both of these cases, I believe the most important work they are doing is empowering and equipping local basketball coaches. We can’t look at Africa as a place where we’ll dig out the next Dikembe Mutombo or a Hasheem Thabeet. I’d strongly encourage the reader to seek out organizations such as these two, that’s looking to invest into building strong coaches as role models.

Drills with Hoops 4 Hope in Zimbabwe.

After completing the court at Bela Rosa, you returned to the States. What’s on your docket nowadays? Will you continue to coach and work in the philanthropic/teaching field?

I’m trying to figure out how I can carve out a career that will allow me to continue the work that started in Mozambique. Any of you out there with career advice on this would be much appreciated! In the meantime, I am planning on being the best basketball coach I can be. I had the good fortune of hosting Coach Jones of DeMatha this past June in Mozambique, as he conducted basketball clinics for the Under-16 national team as well as players of the American International School of Mozambique. My wife and I have recently moved to Baltimore and I’m planning on joining the coaching staff at DeMatha this fall. I can tell you that I’ve already had dreams of returning to Mozambique with players and coaches from DeMatha.

One thing I was struck by in my recent conversations with Coach Jones was how deep the impact of this short trip was for him… helping him to realize that there is more that he can be doing to serve others using his position of influence. I think a part of me has lost perspective on that over the years… the profound life-changing impact exposure to those less fortunate than us can have. I hope that whatever I do in the coming years, I’ll get a chance to share what I was blessed to experience during my three years in Mozambique.