Yemi Returns - 8/13/09

DENVER - Former Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Yemi Nicholson stopped by the Ritchie Center this week.


Nicholson has been playing overseas since he graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in communications and minor in business administration in March 2006.


Despite some challenges with language and culture shock, Nicholson said he has really enjoyed playing in places like Spain, Germany and Belgium, and he anticipates playing for several more years.


Nicholson grew up in the Denver area and returns each summer, even though his family has moved to Pittsburgh because, as he said, Denver will always be home.


Mitch Hyder, the Voice of the Pioneers, interviewed Nicholson while he was here.  You can see that interview in the media player below.



Travel Update: The basketball coaches all seem to be recovered from a jam-packed recruiting season. DU's coaches spent most of July traveling to places like Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas and seemingly everywhere in between.


The team should have just one scholarship, which means they can really focus on getting the best player available. Of course, the one scholarship that's opening up currently belongs to a guy named Nate Rohnert, who is set to graduate next spring. Hopefully whoever they sign will work as hard as Rohnert has in his first three years at DU.


The coaches are all back in the offices now and preparing for the season. Practices can't begin until Oct. 16, but the players will have a couple of hours of workouts each week once the school year starts in mid-September.


Dance the Night Away: DU's basketball players all took classes this summer, which is pretty common. What is not common is one of the classes.

Nate Rohnert and Andrew Hooper took "Dance in India," a core class that required them to perform a dance as part of the final.

Word from the players was that it was a challenging course that involved, in part, learning the names of several dance moves and how to do them.

According to the class description, "As a discipline in which the body is trained to become "naturalized" in very specific ways, dance tells us much about the culture in which it is a part... This course explores the tension between change (innovation) and continuity (tradition) in four different forms of dance from the Indian subcontinent: Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form from South India; Kathak, a classical dance form from North India; Bhangra, a folk dance form from Northwest India; and the mass-mediated, syncretic form of dance predominant in the Bollywood film industry."

Unfortunately, we do not have video footage of Rohnert at 6-foot-5 or Hooper at 6-foot-9 showing off their inner Bollywood. However, you never know where players might pick up new moves that will help them on the hardwood.

Star Search: Former DU basketball player David Atkins returns to town this weekend. He's better known these days as Sinbad, the comedian who made his start on Star Search (a.k.a. the original "America's Got Talent"), a number of HBO comedy specials and the Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World.

Atkins played four years for the Pioneers from 1974-78, averaging 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Sinbad is performing at Comedy Works South from Aug. 14-16.

Getting to Know Chase Hallam - 8/12/09

DENVER – As we move closer to the start of the 2009-10 season, I thought it might be interesting to check in with one of the newest members of the Pioneers, so we headed down to the lockerroom to talk with Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas).

Chase has been lifting weights and playing pickup games in Denver with his older brother and sophomore guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas), as well as the rest of the Pioneers.  

What is it like playing with your brother?

It was fun in high school, and it’s going to be fun here. We played well together in high school. We went to the regional finals every year, and went to the state championship, and hopefully we can have the same kind of success here.

What made you pick DU?

I just liked all the guys here and the arena was nice. Out of all the places I looked at, I liked this the most.

Your brother didn’t have any influence on the decision?

Not really.

Where else were you looking?

Miami of Ohio, Colgate and a couple Ivy League schools.

Who influenced you to play ball?

My dad was a big sports guy and watched a lot of games on television. I guess I just picked it up naturally.

What is your first memory of playing basketball?

Losing to Travis, when I was 4 or 5. We had one of those hoops that you put on the roof of the house and we just shot. We just threw up the ball. We didn’t know what we were doing. We would just start playing.

Who is more competitive?

We both are competitive. Off the court Travis is more competitive about some things.

Like what?

Video games. He always wants to win with video games, and I don’t really care. I mean I want to win too, but he is way more competitive with them.

Explain to your high school mascot.

The Skeeters. It was a big, fierce looking mosquito. There was an actual costume that had a little body and little wings but a big long nose. We actually had a good mascot this year. He could dance and do back flips in the costume and stuff.

For the full history, visit the school's website.

What is your favorite part about basketball?

Just going up and down the court. Running. I like winning, and I’ve won a lot of games.

What are you looking forward to at DU?

Getting to the NCAA Tournament, basically. I think we can do it. I think we have a good team. And I think we can make it there.

How are your classes this summer?

One class has been pretty easy, and the other has been brutal. But they’re not too bad.

What classes are you taking?

Psychology and philosophy.

What are you planning to major in?

Business, but I might minor in psychology, so this is a good start.

What do you do for fun?

Hang out. I’m a big movie guy. I watch a lot of movies.

What’s your favorite movie?

Anchorman. I love Will Farrell. He is the funniest guy ever. He is a funny, funny guy.

Do you buy DVDs or do you just rent them?

I go to Hollywood Video a lot. It’s right next to the house. We go see movies a lot, too. If you name a movie, I’ve probably seen it. But I don’t do horror movies, though. That’s something I don’t do.  

Why not?

I’m scared. It’s one of my fears. I don’t do scary movies. I had a bad experience, when I was a little kid. I went to a friend’s house and we watched a horror movie. After that, I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to go through that again.

What else do you do?

I like baseball. I’m a huge Rangers fan. I used to play baseball. I actually got recruited for it, too. But I didn’t really like going to baseball practices.

Who is your favorite basketball player of all time?

Michael Jordan, but everyone says him. If you ever watch him on ESPN Classic games, he doesn’t miss. Ever. He has the best, most well-rounded game I have ever seen. Every time he’s on ESPN Classic, I’ll watch the game.