Beyond borders: HPU men's basketball team breaks barriers on and off the court 

 For the first time in the program’s history, High Point University’s men’s basketball team is ranked in the mid-major top 10. In addition to the hard work on the court, many credit their success to the team’s chemistry. Four of the key players on the basketball team are from outside of the United States. They credit their cultural diversity for helping them bond and become a stronger team.

 

“I feel like it helps because if I was the only one who was a foreigner, I would be a little on the side,” freshman guard Titas Sargiunas, who is originally from Lithuania, said. “Now, we have a lot of international students that are in the same spot as you and far away from home.”

 

The diverse backgrounds of the players make them stronger as a group, accounting for one of the reasons the team has been so successful this year.

 

“Multiple people from different places on a team is a good team because we all have different cultures and values, but we can all relate to each other, even though we are not from the same place,” Sargiunas said.

 

The team is further strengthened by their care for one another.

 

“The team knows the situation in Ukraine,” junior forward Pavlo Dzuiba said, who was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. “They are always asking me how my parents are and where they are at.” 

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Freshman forward Juslin Bodo Bodo, who is from Cameroon, says the team loves sharing their cultures. Junior guard Kezza Giffa, from Paris, France, likes to share French music with his teammates and reflect his culture in his fashion. 

 

“Even if I am here, I can bring that culture – that French touch,” Giffa said. “I hope people see that French touch in me.” 

 

The players feel strongly about the importance of diversity, and they are helping share the importance of diversity across HPU’s campus. They are involved in a communications campaign through the High Point University Bateman Competition Team to increase awareness of multicultural representation. 

 

Working with the Bateman team, the international players are creating social media videos and content for HPU students to make them more aware of the hidden diversity on campus.

 

The Bateman team is part of a nationwide competition working with Culturs (STET) to increase awareness at universities across the United States. The Bateman Case Study Competition is the Public Relations Student Society of America’s premier national case study competition for public relations students, providing an opportunity to apply both classroom education and internship experience to create and implement a full public relations campaign. 

 

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