Campus News

M BASKETBALL: ETBU's Deba Egharevba enjoys holiday experience with family in Nigeria

MARSHALL, Texas (1/20/10) – Going home for the holidays took on a different meaning this past year for ETBU basketball junior Deba Egharevba.

Egharevba, a 6-5 junior forward from Plano who leads ETBU in rebounding and is second on the team in scoring this season, left with his family on Dec. 20 for a 15-hour plane trip to Nigeria, the homeland of both Deba’s parents.

It was only the second time in his life that Egharevba (full name is pronounced DAY-ba e-GARV-ba) had visited the African nation, where his parents – Jolly and Lillian – grew up before coming to the United States to attend college. The first trip was with his sister last summer, but this particular holiday trip was different because Deba was going to spend it with relatives on both sides of the family.

The two-plus weeks spent in Nigeria convinced Deba of one thing – he is fortunate to have his life in America and to be able to attend college, just like his parents.

"The thing that really got me was the fact that there was no 24-hour lighting over there, no electricity in a lot of places,” says Egharevba. "I had to take baths in a bucket. No air conditioning, and it gets really hot over there, even at Christmas. It really makes you thankful for what your parents went through so that you could enjoy the kinds of things we get to enjoy here.”

Deba and his three siblings – brother Nosa and sisters Sophia and Tracy – were born in the United States. Both Jolly and Lillian Egharevba earned college degrees and now work together with a personal home healthcare business in the Plano area.

Deba’s sister, Sophia, has earned a Master’s degree in clinical psychology, while Tracy is attending medical school at the University of Texas – San Antonio. Deba is the youngest of the four Egharevba children, in his third year at ETBU.

His parents arrived in the United States looking for a career opportunity, as well as one other important goal.

"They both wanted a better life for their kids,” Deba says. "The conditions in Nigeria, in most places, just aren’t anywhere near what it is here.”

Deba is taking advantage of the opportunity. After a solid career at Plano East High School, he arrived at ETBU in 2007 as a freshman who, according to Tigers head coach Bert West, had so much to learn but with all kinds of promising ability.

"The thing I think that stands out most to me about Deba is his desire to work hard, to get better,” West said. "He has worked every year and gotten consistently better. Since he got here he has steadily improved every area of his game and has been probably the most consistent, solid player on our team this year.”

Deba got off to a great start, averaging 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds through the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule. ETBU’s fall basketball schedule ended with a win at Austin College on Dec. 18, a game that saw Egharevba score 12 points with 10 rebounds.

ETBU was set to resume the season on Jan. 2-3 at the Millsaps College Tournament in Jackson, Miss., but West gave Deba permission to extend his holiday in Nigeria and allowed him to miss the tournament.

"I just couldn’t see how Deba could get more out of a couple of basketball games than he could over there visiting and spending time with his family,” West said. "We talked about it and he was a little hesitant because he is so committed to this team and to this season because of what he’s put into it the last couple of years. But there was no way he could miss this opportunity.”

Deba admits he was a little resistant at the thought of traveling halfway across the world and spending the Christmas break with people he really didn’t know. But after talking with West, he agreed the trip would be more beneficial for him than basketball.

"Seeing both sides of my family, really, it was great seeing them and spending time together at the holidays,” Deba says. "I hated missing those games but I really did enjoy the experience.”

He didn’t get to play much basketball over the holidays, Deba says. The sport of choice in Nigeria, of course, is soccer.

"I was ready to come back and get back on the court,” Deba says. "It took me a couple of games to kind of get back to where I wanted to be, but I feel like we’re in a good position and ready to make a run in the conference.”

The Tigers enter Thursday’s home game against Louisiana College with a 6-8 overall mark, including a 5-5 mark in the conference race. ETBU has three more home games on the current homestand before ending the year with six of the final eight games on the road.

"We’re playing hard and giving great effort,” he said. "As long as we continue to do that everything else will work out.”