SportsMarch 14, 2013

In this Dec. 9, 2011, file photo, Mansa Habeeb of Idaho tries to drive against the Oregon State Beavers at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.
In this Dec. 9, 2011, file photo, Mansa Habeeb of Idaho tries to drive against the Oregon State Beavers at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW - Long before his name began appearing on the sports page, a young Mansa Habeeb found himself quoted, as a bit of comic relief, in the Life and Art section of the Buffalo News in New York, toward the end of a story headlined "A devout family finds strength in unity."

It appeared in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks in 2001, when newspapers were trying to shed a light on Islam and the difficulties many Muslim Americans faced amid the country's new mood of fear and suspicion.

The story focused on a tight-knit Buffalo family headed by Quadir Habeeb, a male nurse with a serious kidney ailment, and his wife Donna, a third-grade teacher who, among other endeavors, participated in an inter-faith dialogue program among Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Among the family members mentioned was their eldest grandchild, a 10-year-old Mansa Habeeb, who told the reporter, "I like being Muslim. I try to be a good child and work hard. And I like it when I mow the lawn. My grandpa pays me."

Eleven years later, Habeeb is a senior guard for the University of Idaho men's basketball team, a junior-college transfer whose diligence and staunch defense have made him an improbable fan favorite and finally earned him a starting role last month, midway through his senior year. The Vandals play New Mexico State at noon today in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Las Vegas.

At the time of the Buffalo News profile, the hub of the Habeeb family was a shop owned by Quadir called Habeeb's Body Oils, whose wares included alcohol-free perfumes, African clothing and Islamic materials.

There was a prayer room in the back, often a chess duel in the front - the game was one of Quadir's passions - and the shop served as a meeting ground for the Habeebs and the Muslim community. Mansa Habeeb remembers working there as a child, labeling bottles and sweeping the floor.

These days, the family is scattered a bit.

Quadir died nine years ago and his relatives were forced to close the shop. Donna, 61, spends her winters with one of her daughters in Atlanta. Mansa is playing basketball more than 2,000 miles from Buffalo.

Which is why small reunions, such as the one that occurred Saturday night at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, are so meaningful to the Habeebs. It was Senior Night for the Vandals, and Donna Wilson Habeeb, accompanied by one of her sons, found her way to Idaho for the first time to watch her grandson play.

Over the years, Donna has come to see the Habeebs, the family into which she married, as a rarity: a black family that has lived for generations in the U.S. while retaining ties to its Muslim heritage from Africa.

Mansa Habeeb is named after Mansa Musa (1280-1337), a renowned king of Mali credited with spreading wealth throughout the region while undertaking an elaborate pilgimmage to Mecca.

"My husband always believed in putting the best instruction on things," Donna said. "So Mansa's mother had him early, all right, and my husband decided to put a name on Mansa that would give him something to strive for."

While his college career, which began with a successful two years at Southeastern Iowa Community College, has taken Mansa far from his roots, he says he has retained his Muslim practices. There's no mosque to attend handily, but he prays frequently and continues to observe the monthlong fasting of Ramadan, despite the hardship this presents to an athlete.

Oh, he has perhaps given his grandmother pause on occasion, posting a Facebook entry quoting, say, the lyrics to some decidedly unholy song.

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In any case, it was important for her to visit him in his latest surroundings, before he moved to the next stage of his life.

The visit wasn't perfect. Jet-lagged and unsure of the evening's itinerary, Donna misjudged the time and missed the pregame ceremony honoring the Vandals' four seniors.

Mansa, not a big scorer in any case, was less than sharp that night, missing all four of his floor attempts and finishing with one point and five turnovers.

And it was unfortunate that spring break was starting the following week, meaning most of the UI students had fled the campus - were not there to herald the senior guard's introduction and little on-court coups with their customary deep-voiced tribute, "Habeeeeeb!"

Oh, how Donna Habeeb would have relished that.

She did get a hint of how the community has embraced her grandson. At one point during the game, she heard a young girl's voice behind her - "Go, Mansa" - and turned around to see a placard that read, "Go, Mansa Habeeb."

Later, after the Vandals had defeated Seattle University 76-72 in an entertaining game, a young Asian woman with a head scarf approached Donna - a warm, loquacious woman who stands out in a crowd - and assured her that, yes, Muslims do exist in Idaho. The two embraced.

"And I was truly amazed by the beautiful mountains and trees," she said of Idaho.

Her grandson has prospered here in a number of ways. Academic struggles in high school had helped prompt his decision to attend a junior college, but he has played a good game of catch-up and plans to graduate in general studies in May.

Then, like many basketball players of his caliber, he intends to play professionally, probably overseas.

That's fine with his grandmother. It's the next phase of his dream that is more than fine - extraordinarily gratifying, in fact.

He plans, someday, to open a new version of his late grandfather's shop.

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Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.

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