Ernu Deshommes, who had just arrived from Haiti and would be attending Everett High. Despite of Deshommes' vision limitations he demonstrate great athletic and basketball skills on court.
Born with vision problems, Deshommes never received the necessary care for his eyes in Haiti and, as a result, suffers a severe case of nearsightedness. According to DiBiaso, a local optometrist called it the worst case he had seen in 30 years.
'What we're hoping is that someone can see this (story) and do something for Ernu,' DiBiaso said. 'Because he was never treated, the muscles in his eyes got progressively weaker to the point where he can't wear (contact) lenses and glasses wouldn't work, either.'
Despite the problems with his vision, Deshommes played some basketball in Haiti growing up. He followed the NBA on television and immediately became a fan of the San Antonio Spurs, enjoying their style of basketball.
Like anyone with physical limitations, Deshommes has been forced to adjust his playing style. While he has decent shooting range, his bread-and-butter is getting the ball on the wing and taking it straight to the hole.
'If I am near the basket, I can see OK,' the soft-spoken Deshommes said last week. 'But the further away I get, the smaller everything becomes. It's tough, but I just go out and do the best I can.'
With limited vision and little experience in organized basketball, there have been some ups and downs. DiBiaso remembered a play in a recent game against Cambridge as a perfect example of Deshommes not knowing what to do in a late-game situation.
'We're up one with the ball with less than 30 seconds left,' DiBiaso said. 'And here is Ernu out on the perimeter, dribbling behind his back and between his legs. All of a sudden, he takes this wild drive to the basket and tries to dunk the ball. Fortunately for us, he was fouled on the play.
'Then he gets to the foul line. People are screaming at him and Ernu is out there thinking they're cheering for him. He then hits both free throws to help us win the game.'
Another problem is the language barrier. Deshommes speaks very limited English, but benefits from the fact that teammates Rodman Noel and his younger brother, Nerlens, speak Creole and can serve as translators. Relationships with the Noels as well as Jonathan DiBiaso, the coach's son, have smoothed a potentially difficult transition.
'I really don't miss Haiti that much,' said Deshommes, who came over with his father and sister. 'Everyone here in Everett has been so good to me and my family. I like playing basketball at the school, coach (DiBiaso) is a good man.'
DiBiaso would prefer to bring Deshommes along slowly, but recent events have forced an escalation in playing time and responsibility. Nerlens Noel, a highly-touted 6-foot-8 sophomore center, went down with a cracked growth plate before the start of the Cambridge game.
As a result, Deshommes has shifted to center -- and with surprising results on occasion. In the 59-55 win against Cambridge, Deshommes excelled with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
'After the game, I spent nearly three minutes telling the team how proud I was of them for being able to overcome such adversity,' DiBiaso said. 'I'm going on and on, then I looked over at Ernu, who is smiling through the whole thing. I told him he played a great game, then said he probably didn't know a thing I was talking about earlier.
29-year old former Canadian international guard Osvaldo Jeanty (183-84) left London Lightning (NBL Canada). He has a double citizenship as he also holds Haitian passport. In 13 NBL Canada games he played this season he averaged 4.5ppg, 1.6rpg and 1.1apg.
The last season Jeanty played at BBC Bayreuth in German BBL. In 31 games last year he had 11.3ppg, 2.4rpg and 1.2apg.
Among other achievements His team won German 2.Bundesliga Pro A Regular Season in 2008 [read more]
29-year old former Canadian international guard Osvaldo Jeanty (183-84) left London Lightning (NBL Canada). He has a double citizenship as he also holds Haitian passport. In 13 NBL Canada games he played this season he averaged 4.5ppg, 1.6rpg and 1.1apg. The last season Jeanty played at BBC Bayreuth in German BBL. In 31 games last year he had 11.3ppg, 2.4rpg and 1.2apg. Among other achievements His team won German 2.Bundesliga Pro A Regular Season in 2008. Jeanty received also Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro A 1st Team award back in 2008. He represented Canada at the Panamerican Games in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) six years ago. His stats at that event were 5 games: 1.0ppg. Jeanty has played also professionally in Romania (Gaz Metan), Germany (LTi 46ers and Noerdlingen) and Canada (Ravens).
Gino Lanisse (200-F-81) is back to BBC Nyon. The Haitian/Swiss forward penned a deal for the upcoming season. He played for BBC Nyon from 2005 to 2009 and before that in 2003/04 season. Lanisse missed 2011/12 and before that he spent one year with Jump Union Neuchatel. The player averaged 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for 19 LNB games. They won LNB title and Lanisse was named to Eurobasket.com All-Swiss LNB 1st Team -11. In 2009/10, Gino Lanisse was a member of MGS Grand-Saconnex Basket [read more]
Gino Lanisse (200-F-81) is back to BBC Nyon. The Haitian/Swiss forward penned a deal for the upcoming season. He played for BBC Nyon from 2005 to 2009 and before that in 2003/04 season. Lanisse missed 2011/12 and before that he spent one year with Jump Union Neuchatel. The player averaged 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for 19 LNB games. They won LNB title and Lanisse was named to Eurobasket.com All-Swiss LNB 1st Team -11. In 2009/10, Gino Lanisse was a member of MGS Grand-Saconnex Basket. There he had 5.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg for 29 games in LNA. As mentioned above, Lanisse spent five years with BBC Nyon. He had 4.3 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 2008/09. They reached Swiss League Cup Finals that year.
Palma Air Europa (LEB Silver) strengthened their roster with addition of 34-year old Haitian-USA center Robert Joseph (204-100kg-78, college: Union, TN). He played most recently at Mad-Croc Fuenlabrada (ACB). Joseph is a very experienced player. He graduated Union University in 2002 and it will be his 11th season in pro basketball. Last season Robert Joseph started with Fontedoso Carrefour El Bulevar de Avila. He notched 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1 [read more]
Palma Air Europa (LEB Silver) strengthened their roster with addition of 34-year old Haitian-USA center Robert Joseph (204-100kg-78, college: Union, TN). He played most recently at Mad-Croc Fuenlabrada (ACB). Joseph is a very experienced player. He graduated Union University in 2002 and it will be his 11th season in pro basketball. Last season Robert Joseph started with Fontedoso Carrefour El Bulevar de Avila. He notched 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks per appearance in LEB Silver. Later the centre moved to Fuenlabrada. His stats read 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in ACB. In EuroChallenge his stats read 4.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 block.
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