Georgia Highlands Student Takes Basketball Skills To Lone Star State

Submitted by Georgia Highlands College, which has a campus in Cartersville

Rafeegah Fataar is the first Lady Charger of this season to sign with another college to continue her basketball career. The 6-foot-2-inch forward-center from Cape Town, South Africa, will play for Texas Southern University, a Division I school in Houston, Texas.

Several factors influenced Fataar decision to sign early and with TSU.

“I didn’t just look at the school for the basketball program,” she said. “When I visited I spoke to the professors and students about school. I would stop random people walking on campus and ask them questions. I was very pleased with the responses I got.”

Fataar expects to see playing time once she arrives at TSU because she is replacing a graduating senior.

While she has had great success with basketball in the United States, she only began playing the sport seven years ago.

“Before basketball, I played a sport in South Africa called netball,” Fataar said. “It is slower than basketball. “One day, a man named Craig Daniels invited me to come play basketball. When I tried out I thought it was very cool. I was the tallest person and every time I got the ball I could throw it in the basket.

“After that I went on to play state and nationals. Scouts from the U.S. came during nationals and chose two girls out of two hundred to come play here in the United States. I was fortunate to be one of those girls.”

Brandan Harrell, head coach for the Lady Chargers, said due to a knee injury Fataar has missed the first three games of this season and will likely be out several more.

“She had a chance to be really good,” Harrell said. “It is way too early to tell what kind of an impact player she will be for us. Due to her injury she has missed some games. She has the right body type. She has a skill set that is good; she has the basketball IQ. It is just a matter of getting her in the flow with us once she returns to the game.

“It is our job to try to get our athletes to that next level. We are really proud of all our kids that go on to play other places. Out of six sophomores in the past two years, five have signed to go play at four-year schools. Ultimately, we want to get our kids graduated and playing at the next level.”

Harrell said there are benefits and disadvantages to signing during the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s early signing period.

“To have a player sign with a Division I school and during the early sign period is good. There are pros and cons to signing early, however. The pros are obviously that you are done with the signing process. You don’t have to talk to any more coaches or go on any other visits. You are somewhat protected if you were to have an injury because you are locked in for the next year. The cons are that sometimes there are opportunities out there that you may not be aware of yet. However, that is for the individual student athlete to decide. It our job to create opportunities for them to get to the next level.”

She credits the support of three people as the reason she is able to remain in the U.S., thousands of miles from her family and home. Her mother, Kamiela Fataar; her aunt, Soraya Harrigan, and her mentor, Craig Daniels, encourage Fataar to continue her education and basketball career.

“My mom is my rock,” Fataar added. “There have been times when I just wanted to give up and go home. It gets really tough if you don’t get to see your mom. She keeps me motivated. During high school, I went three years without seeing them and that was not easy.

“My aunt is a teacher and she is the reason I want to become a teacher. She is my role model when it comes to pursuing something in life. Someday, I want to go back to South Africa and give back. I have been given so many opportunities; I want to help others to achieve great things as well.

“Craig went out of his way to make sure I trained every day. There were times that I wanted to give up because I thought basketball wouldn’t benefit me. He made me understand there was so much to basketball. He always pushed me; he used to come to my house and pick me up at 5 a.m. for workouts. He really inspired me.”

Fataar began playing in the U.S. five years ago at a high school in New Hampshire. From there she played for South Plains College in Texas as a freshman and transferred to GHC her sophomore year. She plans to move to Houston following graduation from GHC.

Photo credit: Patch