An ordinary player whos anything but
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Sharp, recognizing help was on the way, delivered a bounce pass to Enmanuel, who collected it in stride and vaulted toward the rim for what everyone on his team and everyone else in the small arena expected to be a stanchion-shaking dunk. But as Enmanuel approached the basket with the ball palmed in his right hand, he recalibrated.
Instead of dunking, he laid the ball on the rim. It would not cooperate, rolling off.
A few moments later, Corey Gipson, Enmanuels coach at Northwestern State, pulled him aside to deliver an indelicate truth: Enmanuel should have dunked it, but he had shied away from the contact.
He went up worrying about missing instead of saying, Im going to put the women and children to bed, Gipson said later that night, after Northwestern State lost to the University of New Orleans.
Hansel Enmanuel, a guard at Northwestern State University basketball team, at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, La., on Feb. 18, 2023. Enmanuel was born in the Dominican Republic and lost his left arm in a childhood accident. (Callaghan OHare/The New York Times)
What made their exchange so extraordinary, though, was just how ordinary it was no mollycoddling or mincing of words, just a coach letting a freshman know that he expects more from him. In that moment, Enmanuel, who lost his left arm in a childhood accident, was right where he wanted to be just another player on a team with NCAA Tournament ambitions.
Of course, Enmanuel is anything but.
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Enmanuel, 19, is the only player in Division I mens college basketball with only one arm, relying instead on his other gifts: a rangy, 6-foot-6 frame; kangaroolike hops; and a basketball IQ passed down from his father, Hansel Salvador, a longtime standout in the Dominican Republic professional league.
And how many other college players have collected 1.4 million Instagram followers, walked the red carpet at the ESPYs or taken a star turn in a sports drink commercial broadcast during last years NBA Finals? (For that matter, how many have a seven-figure endorsement portfolio, which he does, according to his agent, that also includes sportswear, sunglasses and cellphone companies?)
That visibility has been mostly recent, after he moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic less than three years ago speaking little English. He became an internet sensation through dunk videos while he excelled at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.
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This is a life Enmanuel did not think possible after, at age 6, a wall he was climbing collapsed on him, pinning his left arm. By the time he was rescued, it was too late to save his arm. It was amputated just below the shoulder.
Hansel Enmanuel, center, a guard at Northwestern State University, prays with his teammates in the locker room ahead of their basketball game against the University of New Orleans at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, La., on Feb. 18, 2023. Hansel Enmanuel has earned the respect of his Northwestern State teammates in his freshman season. (Callaghan OHare/The New York Times)
When the accident happened, I was thinking, like: What am I going to do now? he told The Associated Press in December in the only print interview he has done this season. I was thinking: Its over for me.
Small milestones such as tying his own shoelaces gave way to bigger ones, such as maintaining his equilibrium while running. And then learning to do basketball tasks with one hand, such as dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding and blocking shots. When Enmanuel moved to Florida, where his mother had immigrated years earlier and he also hoped better opportunities awaited, he more than held his own on the court.
This was true even at a 2021 summer recruiting showcase near Indianapolis, when coaches in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West sat in folding chairs along the court and marveled at how capably Enmanuel played even as they were skeptical that he could play for their teams.
Sometimes coaches second-guess themselves and what theyre looking at, said Rick Catala, who coached Enmanuel for SOH Elite, a club team based in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Ive seen Hansel destroy high-major kids, but then theyre still questioning him. I told one coach, I dont know why you keep asking me, Is he a D-I basketball player?
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A year ago, Isaac Haney was on the Missouri State team bus having a spirited debate with a teammate over the same question. Now, as Enmanuels teammate at Northwestern State, he has a clearer understanding.
Hansel Enmanuel, a guard at Northwestern State University, warms up ahead of the basketball game against the University of New Orleans at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, La., on Feb. 18, 2023. Enmanuel became known in high school for videos of his high-flying dunks; hes still dunking for Northwestern State. (Callaghan OHare/The New York Times)
Youre recruited because a coach sees an ability in you to do a specific job, and sometimes guys arent willing to do the job thats asked of them, said Haney, a sophomore guard. I look at Hansel and see a guy who has an unbelievable work ethic, but also a willingness to serve and a willingness to do the little things. Thats what really makes him an asset and invaluable to this team.
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A public university with an enrollment of 9,389, serving mostly students in one of the nations poorest regions, Northwestern State is tucked away in a city that claims to be Louisianas oldest settlement. Its closest airports are an hours drive south to Alexandria and a little more than that north to Shreveport. The Demons, who had not had a winning season in seven years, have neither a media following nor many fans, drawing perhaps 1,000 to their home games.
There are, to put it kindly, few distractions here.
Hansel likes quiet, said Jhoancy Zapata, his business agent.
There were other options to consider. Memphis, which has national championship ambitions and would have offered a bigger stage but perhaps less playing time, extended a scholarship offer. So did Tennessee State and Bethune-Cookman, historically Black universities that would have provided a unique platform. Northwestern State could promise only one thing: that it would treat Enmanuel like a basketball player.
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I guarantee you were not recruiting him for a dog and pony show, Gipson told Enmanuel, his parents, his club coach and his business advisers in a video call last spring. The coach has heard the inevitable tongue-clucking from other coaches that signing Enmanuel was merely a publicity stunt. Were recruiting him because we think we can develop him and we think he has the right ingredients to fit into the program.
One accommodation has been enlisting Christian Paez, a Colombia native and honor student who has played saxophone in the s
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:46 am