Diversity defines the men's basketball team at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Without it, the Seasiders wouldn't enjoy the unprecedented success that characterizes the current campaign.
The roster includes players from six countries and three continents. The standout player is Brazilian. During a recent game, each of the five BYU-Hawaii starters stemmed from a different nationality, either foreign-born or the children of immigrants.
The net result of so much diversity is a roster to be reckoned with. Through Jan. 14, the Seasiders boasted a 9-1 record. They ranked fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage and fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage.
Led by head coach Ken Wagner, BYU-Hawaii has risen as high as No. 6 in the national polls this season — the highest the program has ever been ranked since it began competing in NCAA Division II nine years ago.
Lucas Alves, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Casa Branca, Brazil, leads the Seasiders with 20.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest. Point guard Virgil Buensuceso is a first-generation Filipino-American by way of northern California; he handles the ball and dishes out 6.1 assists per game. Senior forward Jermaine Odjegba's parents are Nigerian. On Nov. 20, 2008, Alves, Buensuceso and Odjegba joined Tsung-Hsien Chang from Taiwan and Marques Whippy from Fiji to give the Seasiders a historically international starting lineup.
Extensive diversity is no new trend for the BYU-Hawaii squad. Wagner, in his 19th season on the job, has long made a point of recruiting internationally.
"We intentionally (recruit) like this because of our target area," he said. "We always try to recruit in Asia and the South Pacific."
Despite the presence of many different cultures, the coach cites strong character as a common thread running through all of his Seasiders.
"We look at our players carefully before we recruit them and know what type of people they are," he said. "We're real fortunate in that we just have a great group of young men overall. We don't have any that are tough to deal with.
"We really do have an international flavor, but the one thing in common is they're all great people and good athletes."
Most of the players on the team are LDS but some are not. Senior guard Trenson Akana served in the Hiroshima Japan Mission; he is second on the team with 14 points per game and ranks third in the entire nation with a success rate of 53.7 percent on 3-pointers. For him, the team's comportment makes it difficult to discern who's a member of the Church and who isn't.
"I think non-members or members alike, we have a great bunch of guys," he said. "Often I get on campus where I'm walking around (and) people are surprised when they find out that we have non-members on the team because [the way] those non-members . . . conduct and carry themselves is just as good as the members."
Because BYU-Hawaii is part of the Church Educational System, the gospel permeates seemingly every facet of the men's basketball program.
"We do little things like they do at any Church school, like always starting practice with a prayer," coach Wagner said. "While they're here, we expect them to live the Honor Code. ... I think how well everyone gets along is a great example of how the central issue for everyone is the gospel."
It isn't uncommon for non-members to become converted to the gospel. Nathan Sims, a junior-college transfer from Sky Valley, Calif., ranks third on the team in points and rebounds. He was baptized last year. Sophomore guard Nkosi Stewart from St. Vincent's also was baptized in 2008. But even when non-members opt not to enter the waters of baptism, they can become life-long allies of the Church.
"Because of the great influence of the good young people we have on the team, we always have people that are (getting) baptized and converted," coach Wagner said. "(Sims and Stewart) came to school last year, and because of the good influence of their teammates ended up getting baptized.
"That doesn't always happen. At the same time, we've had athletes in our sport and other sports who are not converted to the gospel but I think they're converted to the way of life here at BYU-Hawaii. And if anyone ever said anything negative about the Church they would defend us to the end and say, 'No, I've been there. It's a great place. Those people are good people.'"
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