Fab 30 of the 757: #19 Grassfield OG Seth Harrell
Tamara Brown, recruit757
Just a few weeks after school let out in Virginia, BWSL 17U girls traveled to São Paulo, Brazil. Xaria Wiggins and Junajah Somerville were two locals that had the opportunity to go overseas, both of which were traveling out of the country for the first time.
Wiggins, a rising junior for three-time state champs, Princess Anne, got to live out one of her future dreams about a half a decade early.
“This opportunity was really great because I never thought I would go out of the country at such a young age to play basketball. I’ve always wanted to play overseas after college so this opportunity was great for me to see how they ran things over there . When my friends founded out I was going out of the country they were saying “Omg you’re so lucky,” but what they don’t know is that this is all a result of hard work. So if they keep working hard one day they’ll get to travel anywhere they want. It just takes heart,” Wiggins said of the trip.
Besides a little nervousness of experiencing a new land, Wiggins and Somerville were thrilled for their trip to do what they love.
“Basketball was totally different, we blew most teams out but they play hard. If there were down 60 they still was trying to get the ball. Overall they didn’t have a lot of skills but they were strong,” Somerville noted.
The team played six games in Brazil and lost only one against a professional team. Among the 12 that went on the trip were #1 player in the nation for the class of 2017, Megan Walker, Texas Commit Deja Kelly and 2015 USA U16 National Team member, Jade Williams.
“The energy of the basketball games and soccer games there are amazing. The fans are literally die hard fans meaning we were always pumped up during games because of the atmosphere . After the games a lot of people came to take pictures with us and add us on social media thinking we were famous so we just went along with it. The people there were so nice and positive,” Wiggins said.
Walker, who had previously traveled to Astana, Kazakhstan for the FIBA Worlds 3-on-3 Tournament, agreed that competing against athletes their age wasn’t difficult but playing against the pro teams overseas was much more competitive.
“Being able to travel out of the country for basketball was a great experience that you shouldn’t take for granted. Seeing how people live outside of the United States makes you appreciate what you have and makes you take advantage of the resources we have in this country,” Walker, the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year noted.
Wiggins’ stated something similar to Walker and mentioned that prior to going to Brazil she envisioned it to be like paradise but upon arriving she learned otherwise.
“We were in the city and it kind of reminded me of New York. We couldn’t really have our phones out when we were walking or carry any handbags because it would most likely get stolen. While we were there one of our assistant coaches, Tiffany Sykes, phone got stolen right out of her hand, so we weren’t allowed to have our phones out in public. Off the court being in that environment opened my eyes a lot, seeing the homeless people, even babies and kids out there on their own made me be really thankful for everything that I have and to not take anything for granted,” Wiggins added.
Habitually, the first thing many people ask about when going to a new country is the food. Walker and Wiggins gave a thumbs up for the Brazilian cuisine.
“I was scared to try the food there but it was actually good. I tried some chopped up beef and then when I was finished it ended up being chicken heart. I was surprised because it wasn’t bad at all. One thing that they do have that is better there than the U.S. is the Pizza. It was so good I could’ve eaten it every night,” Wiggins said.
Overall, the overseas experience was enlightening for the BWSL girls on and off the clock.
The experience was great and just by playing basketball I was able to go out the country and that is a blessing. Where I’m from not a lot of athletes or people in general can say they went out the country so I’m truly blessed for that,” Somerville said.
-Tamara Brown
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