Its not very often that  you see Jamaicans making it to the top level of sports in the world. I mean of course we are filled with so much talent that it seems to rush out like a balloon filled with water just waiting to burst and flood the scene. I mean of course we have the talent, just look in the newspapers, in every aspect of sport, swimming, fighting, driving, running, throwing, even iced based sports, there is always a Jamaican somewhere among the ranks just waving the flag high. However as far as professional sports go you dont see Jamaicans at the top level that often.

Ricardo Fuller and Ricardo Gardener (it seems ricardo is a good football name) are the only 2 Jamaicans enjoying top flight football in England, there is also luton shelton who now plays in the norweigan premier league; we do have our print stars with household names like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser; and we have Errol Kerr as a skiier. However when was the last time you heard of a Jamaican being a basketball star? The last I can think about is Patrick Ewing who was the star of the New York Knicks during the Jordan era, since he retired in 2002 there has been no Jamaican replacement... Until Samardo Samuels.

**taken from zimbio.com

Ok Maybe i'm being a early in stating that he will be the next basketball star, however the fact of the matter is it is inevitable. The towering Samuels (he is 6'8" tall) currently plays for the University of Louisville Cardinals as and has been described by most basketball pundits as quite simply a beast, and thats a name he lives up to for the most part, scoring 436 points and 181 rebounds for the 2008-2009 college season. In the 2009-2010 season he has managed to increase those numbers scoring 477 points and making 221 rebounds. He also has a field goal percentage of .517 which essentially means that he scores 1/2 of the shots that he takes, that is not a simple feat by any standards.

A description of his skills by draftexpress.com states that:

Samuels is an extremely smart and highly efficient back-to-the-basket player, using his low center of gravity and great lower body strength to consistently establish deep post position, either pinning his man under the basket or getting inside of him and blocking him out. Once he gets the ball, Samuels shows good awareness and always goes for the highest percentage shot, usually a right-handed layup, dunk, or short-range right-handed hook shot. His footwork in the post is excellent, mixing in a rangy dropstep in addition to his mostly simple, compact repertoire.

In essence he is really good, and he has the silverware to show it as well. His awards so far include USA Today's Player of the year award in 2008, and also he was named as a McDonald's All-American which essentially means he was part of an elite group of basketball players chosen by an expert team as the best of the best, in addition he is currently ranked by Yahoo! Rivals as 9th in the entire US. So you see I am not only just touting him as the next great basketball star, everybody else is doing so as well, so much so that he is expected to be drafted into the NBA by the 2nd round. So really the only thing he needs to do is keep on doing what he has been doing.

Anybody who has been reading anything I have written up to now will realize one thing about me, I am a proud Jamaican and I love seeing other Jamaicans succeed at all levels. It fills me with a sense of pride that is very hard to describe but it is enough for me to keep a smile on my face. So I have no issue with stating that I wish the best for Samardo as he goes forward into his up and coming NBA career and hope it is filled with the best success. I know I can expect nothing less than the best from him as he is a Jamaican, and we strive for nothing less than to be the best!