When it comes to their size and basketball skills, Hillsborough Community College sophomores Faisel Aden and Marial Dhal couldn't be more different. Dhal, a 7-foot-3 forward, is soft-spoken and his game understated; he'd rather block shots than take them. Aden, an explosive, high-scoring guard, can carry a conversation, as well as a team. But Aden said the two are like brothers. They have formed a special connection through their comparable journeys. Aden (Somalia) and Dhal (Uganda) survived challenging childhoods in their war-torn countries before fleeing to America for a better life. And now both find themselves close to realizing their dream, playing Division I basketball. Aden has several offers (including from Oklahoma State) and joined Dhal this weekend at the University of Houston on an official visit. "Both of them have went through some times that most of us hopefully won't see and will never experience," HCC coach Derrick Worrels said. "It makes them more humble than the next person."
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Aden, 20, appreciated everything growing up as one of eight children, his family struggling to make ends meet and stay out of harm's way.
"We used to move a lot," Aden said. "I remember, almost every week we'd move. To try to find a better place."
Aden said when he was about 7, his father, Jama Aden, found a way to move the family to the San Diego area, with the help of Aden's older stepsister, Sahra, who lived in Texas. Aden said he doesn't remember how he fled, just that it likely saved his life.
"It was starting to get really bad by the time we left," Aden said. "If we would have stayed a week or so, it'd probably been deadly. There was no police. No government. You could get shot."
Aden's family settled in the San Diego projects, in a tough neighborhood rife with gang activity. "There was always a riot. It was gang violence," he said. "With the Crips and Bloods and all that. It was really bad. I couldn't stay in the park after dark."
Aden would sneak out of the house at times to play basketball. He got his first big break when he visited Sahra in Irving, Texas, the summer of his eighth-grade year. "I had never seen a place like that. It was just green grass and nice people," Aden said. "It was new to me."
Aden soon got hooked up with an AAU travel team and convinced his parents to let him stay with his stepsister when she moved to Arlington with her husband. He made a name for himself and landed at a Dallas prep school, God's Academy, before enrolling at New Mexico State. But just when Aden thought he had made it, the NCAA ruled that it wouldn't accept the courses and grades from God's Academy, which was founded in 2005, due to finding the school lacking in organized curriculum and formal instruction.
Aden said his AAU coach knew of Worrels through an acquaintance and helped put the wheels in motion to bring him to Tampa. Aden has thrived, leading HCC in scoring last season (averaging 20 points per game) and receiving offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, Fresno State, Mississippi State and Houston.
"I've always wanted to do great things in basketball and always had the confidence that I would do it," Aden said. "I just had the passion for it, and it never dies."
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Dhal said his father died when he was very young and his uncle helped support him and his mother in Kampala, Uganda.
Northern Uganda has had civil unrest for more than 20 years, with thousands killed and more than 1 million displaced. Of the thousands of children affected, some were kidnapped by rebel groups to serve as fighters.
Dhal said he was fortunate to stay safe, though he knew of many others that weren't so lucky. "There were a lot of kids kidnapped" he said. "Everyone knew how dangerous (the war) was."
Dhal, 21, said he picked up basketball as a kid and drew attention because of his height. A friend who had moved from Uganda to the United States spotted him playing a pickup game on a trip to Kampala and told Dhal about playing in America. Dhal was put in touch with Our Savior New America School, a Christian school outside of New York City, and he tried to get there.
Dhal said he had to wait two months for his visa and other paperwork to go through before getting clearance to enroll. He stayed with a host family and played on a basketball team that included five 7-footers.
"Everyone on the team was from a different country," Dhal said. "South America, Africa, sometimes Europe."
Dhal ended up making a trip to USF with a friend of his who was checking out the school. But Dhal didn't qualify academically with his SAT score, so he decided to try to go to HCC.
Worrels said because Dhal didn't have a meal plan or a lot of money, several people from the community donated food so he could get started. Dhal has since gotten a job in the school's computer lab.
Dhal said the toughest part about being here is not being able to talk to his family very much, if at all. He hasn't seen them since he left Uganda.
"He didn't have a situation where he talks to anyone back home — ever," Worrels said. "That would almost destroy me. But he'll be here making a better life for himself, so he can go back to provide."
Dhal has been a project of sorts, trying to grow comfortable in his sleek, 7-3 frame. He redshirted his first season at HCC and has gradually gotten better with his lateral movement and defense, which Worrels said will be the key to his basketball fate.
"Everybody else has to make shots and do some other things," Worrels said. "All he has to do is play defense. If he can play defense effectively, block shots and defend the perimeter, he's a millionaire."
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