He devoted much of his childhood in Africa either to playing sports or watching television, but Boubacar Coly can speak eight languages with ease.
He is Muslim by faith but attended Catholic schools much of his life and even a Catholic university for a time.
He grew up on a continent where soccer is king, but his heart led him to basketball and the United States.
Incongruous as those facts seem, they are mere snapshots of a young man who forged a life in the United States when everyone back in Ziguinchor, Senegal, told him not to leave seven years ago. Factor in three major knee surgeries, two lost seasons of college basketball, a new wife and a reinvigorated career at Morgan State, and it still doesn't cover the journey Coly has taken.
His wife says he is "ridiculously" smart, learning English by watching television.
His coach says he is humble and nice - "probably to a fault" - and he is the backbone of what might be Morgan's best Division I basketball team ever.
With Coly, what you get is more than what you see, and what you see is impressive.
"He's a very humble young man, a very nice young man," coach Todd Bozeman said. "If he grew up here in the States, he probably would have more edge to him. If he had more edge to him, he'd be an even better leader because he'd confront guys more."
Bozeman wants edge on top of the 10.6 rebounds, 9.3 points and 2.5 blocked shots Coly, 6 feet 9, gives him each game. But the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's dominant post player has his limits. Getting on people - especially teammates - is not part of his game.
"I worry about people's feelings a lot," said Coly, 24. "I don't like making people feel bad about themselves."
That's sensitivity.
Here's determination.
During three years at Xavier, a Catholic university in Cincinnati, Coly went from blue-chip recruit to basketball outcast. He felt disregarded when his knee surgeries put him on the sideline for two seasons. He worked like crazy to get healthy and get a degree in international business at Xavier. He did both.
"At Xavier, he underwent a lot of surgery," said Mellissa Coly, his wife of two years. "A lot of times it was just me, him and the trainer. Boubacar lived in the training room. ... It got to the point, [where I said] 'All you do is rehab ... '
"He's so determined. He knows what he wants. He wasn't going to let surgery or anyone get in his way. He's always had an impeccable work ethic."
Here's the beginning of that determination.
In 1998, the Senegalese national basketball team won the African Cup. One of the players on that team was a neighbor of his grandmother, who looked at Coly, at 6-3, and suggested he give the sport a try.
The only problem was finding basketball shoes big enough once he started playing. In the early years, he got his oversized footwear from an aunt in France.
Then there was his practice regimen. He not only practiced on a basketball court in the stupefying midday African heat when everyone else retreated indoors, but he also persuaded an older friend to join him.
"I would pay for his bus ticket to go home," Coly said.
He later persuaded his parents to let him come to the States when they wanted him to stay and go on to play pro soccer in Belgium, as two uncles had.
Coly insisted on basketball over soccer. Then, after a week at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., he wanted to go home. It was daunting and different.
His mother, Awa Diop, told him to forget it. Too late. "She said: 'You're not putting that shame on us. You better suck it up.' ... I'm so glad they convinced me to stay," he said.
In one year at Oak Hill, he played soccer, too. Averaged two goals a game. And said no when anyone suggested he stick with soccer.
He played two years at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. He played with future NBA stars Josh Smith and Dwight Howard with the Atlantic Celtics, a high-profile Amateur Athletic Union team. Everywhere he went, Coly won championships and dazzled college coaches.
He was a top 50 recruit coming out of Laurinburg. He was a reclamation project coming to Baltimore. He has grown so much since then.
"He's become more of a man," his wife said. "He now realizes he has a responsibility to his family. The dream hasn't changed, it's the drive. He wants to help everybody else."
A graduate student, Coly could receive another year of eligibility with a medical waiver. He's not sure he'll pursue it, however. Either way, he figures to play basketball into the future.
"The future's all up to him," Bozeman said. "It's how he finishes the season, how he does after we're done playing when he has an opportunity to get in front of people and showcase his skills.
"NBA scouts have seen him, and they like the fact he played well against the UConn front line. Sometimes you just have to have a skill, something that's valuable to people, and it gets you in the door."
Coly has nine siblings back in Ziguinchor. He sends money home from the two jobs his wife works. His family helps others less fortunate. They give what they have, Mellissa Coly said, to those who have less.
"I always feel uncomfortable about the way the system is back home," Boubacar said. "Either you're rich or you're dead poor."
Coly lost one of his sisters eight years ago. Seynabou died at age 4 of an infection discovered too late. There lies Coly's inspiration.
"I want to have a charitable foundation and name it after her to help other people," he said.
He's determined to make that happen, too.
ken.murray@baltsun.com