Somusa Mthembu

Your feature article of the week is a tall order (pun intended). Somusa Mthembu is a new addition to the national team but has made his presence known. Well known for his extremely long wingspan and out-of-this-world athleticism, his impact is irreplaceable as he is not just a big body on both ends of the court but he has a sweet free throw jump shot and a special ability to time blocks and run the floor. Also known for his off court antics of tattoos and modelling, Somusa is hard working (both on and off the court) and this is also one of the most notorious aspects of his life, he is always working to get better.

I got in touch with him this week to find out more about him and his time on the national team:

1. Full name

Somusa Mthembu

2. Age or birthday

26 March 1992

3. Hometown

KwaMashu, KZN

4. High school

Forest High School

5. University

None

6. Years played on national team

2015-present

7. Games played on national team

Only 2 due to injury preventing me from playing in other games

8. Best player you've played agaisnt at national level

I forgot the guy’s name but I think it was Carlos Morais. I only guarded him once. At the time I was very inexperienced in international games and I was very skinny. It was by chance that he ended up on the low block but when he did and he posted me up and scored on me. Out of everyone that bullied me in that game, he’s the reason I wanted to get in the gym and gain some muscle.

9. Your favourite/stand out game to have played at national level

Stand out game would be AfroBasket qualifiers 2017 against Zimbabwe.

Again, I was part of the team but I was too injured to participate in the qualifiers so I entrusted my teammates to qualify without my help so that I would be able to participate in the World Cup at least but we didn’t participating in the World Cup as well because there was “no money” to help us go there. Broke my heart lol

Anyway, the game is on and Zim is heating up, they have a significant lead to which their bench and their fans believed to be a good enough lead to win the game. At the time, I wasn’t a rookie but I still have veterans that I pay attention and Tsakani Ngobeni was one of them and still is.

I think he was on the bench when Zim had the lead and then he subbed in.. A few possessions go by and then all of a sudden bang, he hits a 3. After that shot his face changed (mamba mentality is the best way I can describe it). He went on to shoot what felt like 100 3 point shots in a row, each one getting a bigger reaction than the last. I don’t remember how many shots he took exactly, I just remember it was epic and the atmosphere made it even better.

10. A favourite story from national team.

One of my teammates (I won’t say who) overslept and didn’t catch the bus for our morning practice session. As we were driving past the hotel, we see him walk out of the reception area, looking around for the bus sleepy as hell and we decided to leave him there and go practice because he was late. After the practice, on our way back, someone came up with idea to scare the crap out of him for missing practice, so we decided that when we got back to the hotel, we’d all sneak in his room while he was asleep with straight faces and when he wakes up, he’d see the whole squad with disappointed faces and then the veterans would chew him out. We did it but it didn’t last long because we started laughing when we saw how nervous he was.

A message or lesson to the kids

My message/lesson for the kids would be to keep working on your craft everyday. Whatever it is. It could be sports, academics, the arts, whatever it is, work on your craft everyday. Whether you realize it or not, you become better at it as a result.