Shafir inspires with game, individuality

For most students, attending college means doing so at the local university or within a few hours from home. Imagine what it would be like to attend college in a foreign country roughly 6,000 miles away from your hometown where the people speak an entirely different language. This is the life of Rockets' 5-7 sophomore guard Naama Shafir.

Shafir grew up in Hoshaya, Israel. For as long as she can remember, Shafir loved basketball. In a family of four boys and five girls, she is the fourth-oldest and was the first to take a keen interest in the game.

"I just love basketball," Shafir said. "I love the sport. So, I just set out and did it."

When Shafir was in the fourth grade, she started playing organized basketball and her love for the game was evident from the beginning, as was her talent.

She started playing for the Israeli Women National Team in 2005 as a member of the U16 squad, averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists per game. By the time she was on the U18 team in 2008, she had increased those numbers to 21 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game to solidify herself as one of the top players in her age group on the international circuit. With her high school days at Ulpanit Tiberias behind her and riding the wave of her on-court success as part of the national team, Shafir started mulling her options.

"I had no idea about college basketball in the United States before I came," Shafir said. "I just decided that I want to do it. I heard people talk good stuff about it. People said, ‘Those four years were my best years.' I was like, ‘I want to do it. I want to go there.' People said that I can get stronger. Everything that I need I can find it."

After getting some help on putting her game tapes together and sending them out to various people, Shafir's dreams started to take shape and become a reality when schools came calling—one being the University of Toledo. UT Head Coach Tricia Cullop got the job in April of 2008 after a successful run at Evansville, but it was late in the recruiting period and she needed a point guard.

"We were scrambling," Cullop said. "I knew we needed a point guard because we had a kid that pulled out after I got the job that was intending to come here."

After doing a lot of searching and talking to people who had been overseas, Cullop said Shafir's name "came to the forefront." She eventually got a DVD of one of her games and was highly impressed.

"It was funny because even though I didn't understand her language—even when she was being interviewed—just the poise and the charisma came through. And after what a great kid she was on and off the court, there was just absolutely no question."

Once contacted by Toledo, Shafir decided to get in touch with fellow Israeli Tal Milchan, who played for Cullop at Evansville.

"I called her and I'm like, ‘Hey, just want to hear from you. I'm interested in Toledo,'" Shafir said. "She was like, ‘Oh my God, you should go there.' I heard really good stuff and it made me happy, and they respect all my religion so I was like, ‘I've got to go there.'"

Shafir is a devout Orthodox Jew, and finding a school that allowed her to further her education, play the game she loved and respect her religious practices was crucial. She has to eat kosher food and wear a t-shirt underneath her jersey, and out of respect for the Shabbat—the sacred day of rest in Judaism—Shafir cannot practice or ride in a motorized vehicle from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Shafir has permission from her Rabbi to play in games on Saturday's. If it is a road game, Shafir travels with an assistant coach the day before and stays in a hotel that is within walking distance of the arena.

Having never been to the United States before arriving at Toledo, Shafir admitted that at first the transition was tough.

"After I got used to my teammates for six years, I have new people," Shafir said. "It was tough. But I was like, ‘I'm going to make it'. Just day by day, step by step, I'm going to make it."

Ultimately, it was the camaraderie with her new teammates and the people at Toledo that made Shafir stay.

"I had no idea what's going on around me, but everybody smiled to me," Shafir said. "It seemed like they were happy to see me here, and that's why it made me stay here. I feel so lucky that I'm here with teammates and this program with the coaches because they make me feel so good. They respect my religion even more than some of the people in Israel."

After watching Shafir play in person overseas when she was recruiting her, Cullop was impressed with how well she played and knew that her experience with the traveling and playing on a big stage internationally would help her transition. So far, Shafir has adapted quickly in her time at Toledo.

"Both parties were really wanting to make this work, and it had to be difficult not being able to see her family for as long as she did," Cullop said. "She's made a lot of sacrifices to be here. We're just so happy she is.

"She's been a tremendous asset to our program, and that's not only on the court but off. She's an ambassador. It just really speaks volumes just because of the way she lives her life."

Shafir showed her potential the first time she put on a Rockets' uniform. In her first game at Toledo, she scored 19 points with her five assists and two steals in the Rockets' 64-63 victory over Arizona on Nov.14, 2008. She went on to earn All-Freshman team and Honorable-Mention All-Mid-American Conference honors after helping lead the Rockets to an 18-13 (11-5 MAC) record in her debut season. Shafir averaged 11.7 points, 4.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game as a freshman.

So far this year, Shafir is averaging 13.8 points, 6.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game as a vital piece on a Toledo roster that has posted a MAC-leading 20-5 (10-2 MAC) record. Shafir acknowledged that the international competition she faced over the last several years helped prepare her for basketball in America.