Father’s Day for Calgary Surge fuels Calgary’s own Mathieu Kamba

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Calgary’s Mathieu Kamba has his dad with him every time he steps on the basketball court.

Both in spirit — as an inspiration behind his love for the game — and in physical form — with a tattoo of his late father’s face inked on his arm.

“He passed away in 2015,” said Kamba — the only Calgarian on the Calgary Surge roster — with a tilt of emotion in his voice. “That was a big hit. I was ready to leave to go back to school, because I was playing for the (NCAA’s) Central Arkansas Bears. He ended up passing away that summer, and I had to take two extra months before I joined my team.

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“He’s one of the reasons I kept pursuing basketball,” continued Kamba. “He kind of allocated a lot of the funds that should have been spread within my family towards me and me being able to chase my dream.

“For that, I will always be grateful.”

And so the 28-year-old guard takes to the floor with the Surge (2-4) for two games this Father’s Day weekend at WinSport — Friday night against the Edmonton Stingers (4-2) (7 p.m., TSN+), and Sunday versus the Brampton Honey Badgers (2-6) (3 p.m., TSN+) — with dad Leonard firmly fuelling his passion.

“For sure. I mean … I have him had tattooed right here,” said Kamba, pointing to his upper left arm. “I’m always honouring him.

“Sunday will be another statement game for me — just go out there and ball out for my pops.”

As always, family will be on hand to push his pace in the Canadian Elite Basketball League contests.

He comes from a large one, with Kamba flanked by five sisters and two brothers — including younger sibling Benjamin, who plays with the U SPORTS’ Regina Cougars after winning a couple of ACAC titles with the SAIT Trojans locally.

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“Big family — all a bunch of hoopers back in the day,” said Kamba, citing mom Marie right at the top of his support network.

“Obviously being that Calgary’s my home-town, I can garner more interest from the public and bring out more people to the game,” continued the 6-foot-5 Kamba, who signed on with the Surge in the off-season after taking a break from summer basketball in 2023. “My family’s here. A lot of my friends are still here. I think it was a great decision to come back.”

Indeed, Kamba was a big deal on the courts of Calgary back in his formative years.

In Grade 8, while playing in the junior high-school city finals, he was approached by Bob Willett to come play for Calgary Youth Basketball Programs, under heralded coach John Hegwood.

“Through the years, I just started elevating my game,” Kamba said. “But at the same time, I was a dual-sport athlete. So I was playing volleyball, and that kind of just like helped me really jump and become athletic. And so putting that together with basketball, we’d go down to America and have a lot of success in these tournaments.

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“The spotlight just started gravitating towards me. I started getting the respect wherever we went in Canada. And that started steering me in the right direction. It was like, ‘I can compete with anybody.’”

His growth culminated on a trip to California alongside then-high-profile American prospects Lonzo and LaMelo Ball and others who showcased their skills in a West Coast basketball tournament.

“That was my eye-opener right there,” continued Kamba. “I ended up making the all-star game there. And I was like, ‘I can really do this thing.’ And then from that moment, I just locked in. And coach John steered me in the right direction, because he played at the highest level.”

Kamba was busy making a name for himself at home, as well.

His Grade 9 team dominated every game — by 50 points, he recalls — to win the city finals.

A loss to the St. Mary’s Saints in Grade 10 city finals and an early exit in next year’s playoffs to the Bishop Grandin Ghosts spurred on Kamba to success in his Grade 12 season, when he and the Bishop McNally Timberwolves beat the Father Lacombe Lasers in overtime to claim the city title before losing on a buzzer-beater to Edmonton’s Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds in the provincial finale.

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“I was regarded as always one of the better players in the city,” Kamba said. “A lot of games, people could not stop me. It was just credit to my teammates — they just helped boost me along every game.”

But the idea of one day playing for a professional team in his home-town seemed a stretch, even though he took in some semi-pro games of the American Basketball Association’s Calgary Crush and the National Basketball League of Canada was making curious in-roads on the national scene.

“Yeah, I never really envisioned it, but this CEBL has come on strong,” Kamba said. “I’m glad that it came to fruition and grateful for everybody that supported it.

“It’s amazing,” continued Kamba. “From the time I was probably like 13 when I really started playing competitive basketball to now, I can clearly see the changes in Calgary. You can see how many club teams — Genesis, CYDC, Calgary Basketball Academy … — have started taking basketball super serious and are pushing the sport within the city.

“Having a professional team and just having a crowd and the atmosphere behind it is very much a blessing. So we’re just trying to continue to push the game forward in everything we do. It’s always give back to the community and push the youth in the right direction — just anything we can do to put Calgary on the national stage and maybe internationally.

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“Because there’s players out here that want to do big things.”

Just like Kamba.

“It’s a grind just taking everything you’ve learned as a youth and trying to apply it,” Kamba said. “So when I’m gone overseas, it’s always been about that hard work — getting there an hour early or leaving an hour late and just trying to see where that work will take you. And so that’s been my philosophy all throughout my years. Whenever I can, I just try to put that work in, because my honest belief is the work never lies.”

He just hopes all that work adds up to another CEBL championship, after winning back-to-back league titles with the rival Edmonton Stingers in 2020 and ’21.

“When I first got here, I just didn’t want to step on toes, because I wasn’t here for training camp,” added Kamba, who joins the Surge after two winter seasons with CD Zunder Palencia in the Liga ACB, the top pro division in Spain. “And so it was just kind of getting to know my teammates, knowing who was better at what position and knowing who’s better at what role and then just kind of like pushing that forward — always trying to get the best out of them.

“And so as we’ve moved along, it’s gotten better. Obviously during our four losses, it’s been pretty bad — there was no cohesion and no chemistry. But it has gotten better.

“Off the court, we all love each other. On the court, we’ve had to fix some things. And so that’s just starting to show, and I think the league will take notice soon.

“It’s been an experience but one that I’m ready to handle being a vet on the team.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM

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