As a junior college player at Central Florida Community College, Max Nhassengo has earned recognition beyond her small campus. Known for her incredible speed and shooting ability, Nhassengo is poised to become a major force in the NCAA Division I ranks. Next season the 5'10" guard from Maputo, Mozambique in Africa will retire her Patriots uniform to sport a new jersey: the navy and silver of Old Dominion.

But in Nhassengo, the Lady Monarchs will not be getting unproven talent. They'll be getting a player who averages 28.7 points per game, 4.9 steals per game, 10.9 rebounds per game, and shoots 49.8% from the floor.

Old Dominion also inherits a player with a string of postseason honors. In her two years at CFCC, Nhassengo has been named Player of the Year in Region VIII, the Mid-Florida Player of the Year, and a Kodak all-American twice. But this season the sophomore achieved even greater recognition for her talent, being chosen as the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's 2001 Junior College/Community College Player of the Year.

With the help of her coach, Jeff Osterman, in this interview Nhassengo discusses the challenge of playing ball and attending school in a foreign country, how she got started in the sport, and her plans for the future.

Gball: When did you first come to the U.S.?
Nhassengo: I first came here in 1999.

Did your family come with you?
Nhassengo: No I came by myself. My family is still in Mozambique. Coach: That was the first time Max had been to the United States.

So how did you end up playing ball at CFCC?
Nhassengo: I was competing at a track championship in Africa and was discovered by Ticha Penicheiro.

Coach: Ticha was a player for Old Dominion who now plays for the Sacramento Monarchs. She's from Portugal. Ticha was at Old Dominion at the time and she told her coach there about Max--that she could be a very special player.

At the time, Max's English wasn't good enough to allow her to enroll at Old Dominion, so ODU got me involved. We contacted Max and her dad and told them all about the opportunities for education in athletics. Then Max got on a plane for the long journey from Maputo, Mozambique to Orlando via Johannesburg, Frankfurt, and Miami. As you can guess, the luggage didn't get here until two days later.

What was your event in track?
Nhassengo: I used to run the 800 and the 400. Coach: Max is probably one of the fastest athletes. Track really paid off for her because she just doesn't get tired.

Do you have many brothers and sisters?
Nhassengo: There are four children in my family--me, my brother Fernando, and two little sisters, Irene and Dulce. I am the only one who plays basketball, but my brother plays soccer.

How did you get involved in playing basketball, because in Africa the biggest sports are soccer and rugby?
Nhassengo: I started thinking about basketball because I used to see Clarisse Machanguana crossing my street all the time with a basketball.

Coach: Clarisse plays for the Charlotte Sting and also went to Old Dominion. Clarisse is from Maputo as well, and Max told us how Clarisse would always walk up her street bouncing a ball when Max was a little girl.

Nhassengo: She was so tall she used to scare me! Whenever I saw her coming I would run away and hide.

So when did you begin to play basketball?
Nhassengo: I first ran track, but I used to play in the streets every day with friends. Then I decided to join a club team. I was 15 when I first got coaching.

That's very late to begin playing. You've come very far with your skills very fast.
Coach: Absolutely. Max made the Kodak all-America team as a freshman. And she's improved more this summer than any player I've been associated with. This summer, Max would get up and lift weights from 7 to 8 in the morning, she'd take classes in the day, we'd work out again for an hour and a half in the afternoon, and she had two or three jobs all summer. But her commitment paid off because she was named Player of the Year this year. She's someone who has a dream, it's locked in, and she doesn't lose focus on it.

Do many girls in Mozambique play basketball?
Nhassengo: Yeah, right now it's becoming popular, and many girls enjoy playing it.

Did anything about the U.S. surprise you?
Nhassengo: The biggest difference was the basketball courts. Compared to Africa, you have everything here. I used to practice on an outside dirt court, just a floor with the baskets. No locker rooms, no anything.

Coach: When she first came here the team asked her all these same types of questions because we wanted to know what Africa was like. So Max gathered about six of us around her her freshman year, and she said, 'One day I was at home taking a nap and all of a sudden I looked up and a giraffe put its head inside the apartment and licked me.' And all of us are like, 'Really!?', and she goes, 'No!'

Did you know English before you came over?
Nhassengo: No. I had to learn when I came here. I used to take four hours of English lessons a day.

Was it difficult to play on the team and be coached without understanding the language?
Nhassengo: It was very, very hard. I had to watch coach's gestures to understand him.

Coach: Max came here and took English as a Second Language, and most people who start with so little English have a very hard time academically. Max, though, will graduate with higher than a 3.0 g.p.a. And that's because she studies more than most people.

Has your education always been important to you?
Nhassengo: Yes it has been. I have this dream to get my degree no matter what happens. That's more important than anything. In fact, when I was little, my father once asked me what I wanted to do or become when I grew up. And I told him I want to have a degree and I want to play pro basketball. And he told me, "Everything you do, just focus on that. Always remember that." And I have.

Do other members of your family have degrees, or will you be the first?
Nhassengo: I will be the first in my family.

How do you hope to use your education?
Nhassengo: I hope to help my country. I want to have a degree in international relations, and I would like to work with my government to let the world know about Mozambique.

Coach: Max has even mentioned wanting to someday be an ambassador, in order help her people, which is pretty neat.

Have you found it difficult to balance school with basketball?
Nhassengo: Yes, I really find it difficult. I do a lot of extra work. For example, if my teacher assigns us a chapter to read, I have to read it four or five times to really understand everything. When I first came here I would translate everything in text to my native language, but that used to waste so much time. Then I changed my strategy. Instead of translating everything, I try to understand everything and then paraphrase it in my notes, which I write in Portuguese, my native language.

What do you think your greatest strengths and weaknesses are as a player?
Nhassengo: I think I do a little bit of everything good. But I have to work on becoming stronger.

Coach: Max is a scorer. She can drive. She can shoot it. She can do a bunch of things. For most people, a 1,000 point career is awfully exciting. It's rare. Max had 902 this year alone.

Her biggest weaknesses right now is learning the nuances of the game, because she's only been playing a few years. To take it to ODU, she's going to have to focus a little more on the little things and try to learn the game as much as she can. And that will all come with experience.

You have an extremely high steals average. What's the secret to a successful steal?
Nhassengo: I think I am successful because I am very ambitious when I'm on the court. I constantly focus on the ball like a predator. I am just always ready to attack the ball--looking for that opportunity to steal and score.

Are you the point guard or shooting guard?
Nhassengo: When I first started playing basketball I was the point guard, but I was so fast that I was always the first one up the court and I would have to wait for everyone to catch up. Then I started playing the two position.

Coach: Last year Max played the four slot. It was the easiest one for us to teach her. But after last summer, she proved to me that she could learn. Our two position is pretty skilled and Max proved that she could do it.

You've committed to Old Dominion for your junior and senior seasons. Are you very excited that you get to continue your basketball career?
Nhassengo: Yes. I'm very, very excited.

Were you recruited by many programs this year?
Nhassengo: Yes.

Coach: Everyone was waiting for Max. But Max wanted to visit Old Dominion early. She probably would have had her choice of any Top 20 program, but she felt really comfortable with Old Dominion. They've had a bunch of international athletes. She committed early so she would have that peace of mind, and so she could focus on a great year athletically and academically.

Why did you choose ODU?
Nhassengo: I choose that program because I know at Old Dominion I'll be in good hands. I know they will treat me as if I were home. And that's what I am looking for first and foremost. I want to be in a family environment. And I know the coaches there will look out for me.

That's really interesting how well this route has worked out for you, because so often young athletes overlook the value of junior college as a stepping stone.
Coach: Yeah. A lot of people don't realize that Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith are junior college kids. If a high school senior gets hurt, or plays out of position, didn't get the recruitment, or didn't play AAU, junior college can be a good option‹even if for only a year to get them exposure.

What do you think the biggest difference will be between playing at CFCC and at a Division I program?
Nhassengo: There are so many differences. I think Division I is more competitive. But I don't think it will be a problem.

Is there anything you plan to improve in preparation for next season?
Nhassengo: Yeah. I'd like to shoot more jumpers and get stronger in the weight room.

Coach: She's exactly right. Right now Max can shoot the three, but she's so quick she goes by a lot of people. But at that level it won't be so easy for her to get past the opposition, which means her jump shot will have to go farther and farther back. So she'll have to get stronger. But she knows her weaknesses and she'll get it done. The toughest part is the fact that she hasn't been home since she came to the U.S. two years ago. Talk about anxious.

So do you get to go home before you start at ODU?
Nhassengo: Yes, I'm planning on going home for about 2 months this summer, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Does your success create a lot of pressure?
Nhassengo: No, I don't feel any pressure. I just feel challenged. And I like being challenged because it makes me work more.

What are your plans after college?
Nhassengo: If I don't go play basketball right away, I'll go and get a real job. But my dream is to play professionally.

What do you like best about the sport?
Nhassengo: I just enjoy it. Everything about it is fun.

Interview conducted by Gball Assistant Editor Shelly Wilson.

Photo: Courtesy of Central Florida Community College.


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