The Details: 'Amazing' Start For Dime At Washington
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Malik Dime started to laugh. He had just been asked about a journey that started in Senegal, led him Ohio – and basketball – then North Carolina and Iowa.
He shared his story. He explained how he ended up at Washington.
“Here I am, playing for the University of Washington!” he said emphatically at the end of his narrative. “It’s been amazing.”
Let’s start at the beginning, with Dime’s laughter, low and deep like rolling thunder. It explains a lot about the big man. As affable and easy going as he is athletic, the events that led him to a college career in Seattle are equal parts unexpected and entertaining, because he never planned on playing basketball.
Born and raised in Dakar, Senegal, Dime played soccer and volleyball growing up. When he was 3, his mother, Oumy, moved to Columbus, Ohio. As Dime got older, he decided he would one day join his mother and make the journey abroad.
The trek began when he was 18. He joined his mother and, during the summer, they went and inquired about enrolling Dime in a local high school.
“I just wanted to go to school,” he said
They met the football coach. He went to find his basketball counterpart.
Oumy and Dime weren’t sure what was happening.
“I couldn’t speak a word of English,” Dime said.
When the basketball coach asked if Dime would be interested in joining the team, the 6-foot-9 shot blocker used his mother as an interpreter.
“Tell him, I’m not really trying to play,” he said. “I don’t know it (basketball).”
The coach encouraged Dime to give the game a try, so he joined the team. He struggled early on.
“My first year playing, it wasn’t really fun,” he said. “I was new to the game. I didn’t know a lot of stuff.”
Dime decided his career would come to an end well before it really got started.
“I can’t do this,” he told himself. “I don’t really like it. I’m just going to go to school.”
Fortunately for Dime, he had a teammate from Senegal. He had been through a similar experience.
“You’ve just got to fight through it,” his teammate said. “You will get better.”
So Dime fought through it. He got better. Not only did this teammate inspire Dime to stick with basketball. He also inspired Dime’s high-top fade after seeing an old photo of his friend.
“That’s dope, why don’t you have it anymore?” Dime asked. “I might have to try it. I tried it, and a lot of people said it looks cool, so I just left it.”
When he first started experimenting with the look, friends made the Kid ’n Play comparison, so he watched the early ’90s movie “House Party.”
“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” said Dime, whose signature hairstyle stuck.
Dime learned English as he developed his feel for the game. He speaks six languages – Wolof (native to Senegal), French, Arabic and several other African dialects – in addition to English.
“English was kind of easy to pick up,” he said. “To me, it’s the easiest language out of all of the ones I speak.”
When it comes to basketball, one thing came as easily as English – shot blocking.
“I got it right away,” Dime said. “That’s the one thing I never had a problem with.”
With a background in volleyball, Dime understood the body positioning it took to turn away a shot.
Now, each time he redirects the ball as it heads toward the rim, “it feels amazing.”
After that first year in Columbus, Dime spent a year in prep school – New Hope Christian Academy in Thomasville, N.C. – before two years at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Now he is in Seattle, quickly becoming a favorite among teammates, coaches and fans.
“He is a joy to coach, an absolute joy,” Romar said.
While he is a natural shot blocker with great timing, Romar has been impressed with the way Dime handles criticism, his ability to absorb what he is told and apply those lessons toward improvement.
“He’s a better offensive player than he’s shown,” Romar said. “I think he’s got some offensive tools that will allow him to become a better offensive player.
“He doesn’t care if he looks cool on the court. He wants to play hard and he wants to win. He’s going to encourage his teammates. He doesn’t care how he looks, except for his hair, he wants his hair to be just right.”
From that trademark high-top fade to his work ethic, wide smile and deep laugh, Dime has been a welcome addition to Washington’s roster. He has come a long way quickly, making up for experience with a willingness to improve.
For Dime, this is only the beginning.
“I still have a lot to learn, and I’m willing to learn every day,” he said. “Hopefully I keep getting better and better.”
