Towson junior Arnaud William Adala Moto has not played in a competitive basketball game in over a year. That will all change very soon as Adala Moto will spend the rest of the summer playing for the Cameroon National Team.
Adala Moto will begin training camp with the national team July 1-18. The 24-member team will be trimmed for a tournament in China (July 20-31) before the final roster is set for the Afrobasket Tournament in Tunisia Aug. 19-30.
The invitation to play for the national team is not the first for Adala Moto. Back in 2011, a young, much smaller Adala-Moto was cut during training camp.
"It was a great experience being selected back in 2011," said Adala Moto. "I was about 30 pounds lighter and it was physical. The skill was there, and that is why they invited me, but I couldn't guard anybody.
"Just to see the level of professionalism really taught me a lot about how to become a better player on and off the court. I learned how to become a leader and work on my game just by watching how they practiced and the way they handled their business."
Adala Moto will not be going through the process alone. Adala Moto's older brother, Parfait Bitee, will also be on the national team. Bitee served as a team captain for the 2011 team.
"I have never played with my brother so it will be great to play with him" said Adala Moto. "In terms of leadership, I really look up to him."
Adala Moto grew up playing soccer. He did not begin playing basketball until the age of 12 when his mother suggested he give it a try. Never believing that he would come to the United States to play in high school or college, playing for the national team was the ultimate goal.
Adala Moto came to the U.S. in 2009 when he was a sophomore in high school. He attended Episcopal High School, a boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia.
"It was definitely a culture shock," said Adala Moto. "It was crazy. At my school, you had to play at least three sports as a freshman and sophomore so I played soccer because I was familiar with it. The attention was coming because of my size and athleticism. Then basketball season came and the attention just grew from there."
Before all was said and done, Adala Moto evolved into one of the Top 150 recruits in the nation. He was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and signed to play at Wake Forest. He spent two seasons with the Demon Deacons, averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
After his sophomore season, Adala Moto decided to transfer. He visited a handful of schools looking for a place that would be a great fit and where he would have a chance to win.
Adala Moto ultimately chose to come to Towson and play for head coach Pat Skerry. Skerry knew what kind of player, and more importantly, what kind of person he was getting in Adala Moto. Back when Skerry and Tiger assistant coach Kevin Clark were assistants together at Rhode Island, they had the pleasure of coaching Adala Moto's older brother.
The competition with the national team will be the first competitive games Adala Moto will play since the end of the 2013-14 season. He was forced to sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules. While sitting out, Adala Moto was able to work out with the team in practice and in the weight room.
"I am excited. It was a long year, but I enjoyed the process of getting better," said Adala Moto. "I have been really consistent with the way I am trying to build my body with Coach (Adam) Fletcher. I put on about 20 pounds of muscle and I feel great moving around.
"I don't think I ever practiced that hard. For me, practice was all that I had. I prepared like I was playing the games, even though I wasn't playing, just to keep my mental sharpness and motivation going. I made a lot of progress with my shooting. It is what I probably improved the most."
Cameroon is in Group C with Egypt, Mali and Gabon. In the quarterfinals of bracket play. Group C will be matched up with Group D, which features Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe and Cape Verde.
Afrobasket 2015 is the Olympic qualifier with the champion automatically qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The next two top finishers will play in another qualifying tournament in hopes of participating in the Olympics.
"Playing in the Olympics would be unbelievable," said Adala Moto. "It would mean the world to me. I don't even have words for it."
