Chico State basketball has produced talent who now play in many professional leagues, with Amir Carraway being just another example of the talent coach Greg Clink and the rest of the Chico State basketball program has produced.
Reminiscing on his time at Chico, Carraway was grateful for the things he learned from coach Gregory Clink.
“Probably the number one thing I picked up was paying attention to detail. It was about being able to focus in on what our opponent was good at and what they weren’t good at and then applying it to the game,” said Carraway.
Carraway realized during his junior year that he wanted to continue on to playing professional basketball. He got in touch with an agent that he felt comfortable letting represent him, and continued to push himself to be the best player he could possibly be.
“I think Amir is a tremendous player, one of the best that I have ever coached. He was a great leader and great team player,” said Clink.
Playing as a forward in college, Carraway was a team leader who did everything from rebounding to passing to shooting when he got open. Now playing overseas, Carraway had to adjust to playing strictly guard and shooting from the perimeter.
Going overseas is a huge change for anyone. Carraway first played on a few teams in Germany, and is now currently playing for a team in Colombia.
While he enjoyed his time playing for the German teams, his experience in Quibdo, Colombia has been nothing short of amazing.
“90 percent of the city of Quibdo is Afro-Latino,” said Carraway, “It was so incredible to see that all these black people out and about, speaking Spanish as their only language.”
Quibdo is an impoverished city so what they lack in money, they make up in pride, as well as love. Many of the players on the Colombian team are from Quibdo, which gives the residents hope, joy, and something for the community to support.
“I was in the Bogota airport waiting to get on a flight and someone from Quibdo recognized me. He said meeting me was the greatest day of his life and that the team will always be loved in his city. I had no idea what an affect I had on the city as well as the country and that’s something I will never forget,” said Carraway.
Carraway enjoys playing basketball now, but unfortunately he can’t play forever.
“The ultimate goal is to be a general manager of a professional team. I like the aspect of building teams and scouting for top talent to try and build the ultimate team playing at the highest level,” said Carraway. “I have a full love for the game and want to be around it when I’m done playing professionally.”
Courtney Chapman can be reached at [email protected] and @courtneychaps on Twitter.
