Tamir Fits In By Being Himself

Amit Tamir is a 21-year-old freshman, so it makes sense that he might not always act his age.

Sometimes he is older, like when he talks to his teammates on the Cal men's basketball team about what it was like to grow up amidst the instability of modern Israel, where he has already done his three-year compulsory military service.

"I feel older than people," Tamir says. "I feel that I've got some knowledge that I can share."

But sometimes Tamir seems younger, letting his childish enthusiasm show with a smile on the court or with a joke off it. Plus, anyone with the nickname "Fluffy" has to be more wet behind the ears than dry.

"It doesn't seem like he's 21," says Cal point guard Shantay Legans. "He acts like a kid."

Whatever his age may seem to be, one thing is certain: Amit Tamir is Amit Tamir, a basketball player adjusting to a new life and a new game in America. The up-tempo, athletic style that is American college basketball is probably the part of life in Berkeley that Tamir has found to be most adaptable. When you move to a new country and have to take classes in a language that is not the one you grew up speaking, survival on the hardwood isn't exactly the most daunting of daily tasks you have to face.

But things are working out nicely for Tamir so far.

"Socially, I'm feeling very good over here," Tamir says. "I know that my teammates have accepted me. That's why I chose this place. I felt most comfortable with the players over here, they're warm people, very friendly."

The 6-foot-10 big man is the third different foreign player in as many years on the Bears roster. Saulius Kuzminskas returned to Lithuania this summer after one year with the program and Tamir's fellow countryman, Shahar Gordon, left after the 1999-2000 season to fulfill his military obligation.

In fact, Tamir says he played with Gordon last summer on one of Israel's junior national teams and Gordon gave him a favorable opinion of Cal.

"He said it would be a good step for me," Tamir says. "He's getting better now that he got to the national team."

After playing at the highest levels in Israel, Tamir decided he wanted to take his game and his education to the next level, and chose to come to Cal after considering Northwestern and the University of Ohio. In Israel, Tamir played on his high school team, the Israeli National Team and in Israel's professional league.

It was his play with Hapoel Jerusalem, a team in Israel's highest professional league, that will delay his debut with the Bears. Tamir was not paid for his play with Hapoel Jerusalem, thus he has retained his amateur status. But some of his teammates did earn money for their play, which causes the NCAA to get its panties all bunched up.

Tamir is just one of dozens of foreign players who have been going through legislative battles with the NCAA regarding eligibility in the past few months. NCAA policy makers have recommended that Tamir, and those in similar situations, sit out eight games to start the season. The ruling is subject to approval by the Division I Board of Directors, which will likely happen tomorrow, according to Cal men's basketball coach Ben Braun.

"I always felt the NCAA, in the end, would make the right decision," Braun says.

One of the most active overseas recruiters in college basketball, Braun nearly persuaded Dallas Mavericks 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki to play for the Bears. Instead, Nowitzki took that well-travelled path from Germany to the NBA, but like any coach, Braun has not let The One That Got Away change his approach to recruiting.

Braun is still active in overseas basketball circles and has done coaching clinics in Israel, where he first saw Tamir play years ago.

"There are so many players around the world that deserve an opportunity," Braun says.

Tamir should get a good opportunity to showcase his skills at some point this season. Senior center Solomon Hughes had highest field goal percentage in the Pac-10 and is the only post player with any significant college experience.

Hughes' brother, Gabriel, is an athletic sophomore, but he was not in the regular rotation last season. The wild card is freshman Jamal Sampson, an immensely talented player who is still recovering from offseason foot surgery.

Tamir fits somewhere in this hazy picture. Like many European big men, Tamir shoots the ball well and can knock down the three-pointer. His teammates also enjoy the fact that he likes to pass the ball.

"He's been a real lift to our team," Braun says. "You've got to appreciate his attitude after coming here with some uncertainty."

Slowly, things have been getting more certain for Tamir. Classes and his English are getting better.

"I feel that I know the material," says Tamir, who intends to major in business administration. "I'm learning how to express myself on paper, express my knowledge."

As serious as much of his life has been, Tamir still knows how to have fun. He is the commissioner in the team's fantasy basketball league and has managed to get most of the Bears players and coaches to join in.

On a Cal team that already has two sets of brothers on its roster, a player from half a world away has helped bring the Bears even closer.

The NCAA may be able to keep Amit Tamir off the court for a while, but there is nothing it can do to keep him from being himself. And in that way, Tamir has already helped his team.

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