The Melbourne Mamba: a dream personified

DURANGO, Colo. – 8,550 miles separates the streets of Melbourne, Australia, and the mountains of Durango, Colo. From leaving home at seventeen to sleeping on the couches and floors of teammates, one thing was certain. Junior Garbrah was willing to sacrifice anything for a chance. Now five years later, Garbrah is a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion and holds the distinguished honor as the Skyhawks’ Team Captain. 

“Junior was my first highlight on air,” said Bob Bonnar, the voice of the Skyhawks on the RMAC Network for the past five years. “I respect Junior a lot because of his journey. He’s really old school in the sense that he waited for his moment and earned everything that’s come his way. Whatever else happens in his life, because of his experiences here at Fort Lewis, he’s going to be incredibly successful. There was a time when people criticized his playing time, but last year he put that to rest. No matter the situation, Junior kept on delivering.”

Just a few weeks ago, Garbrah played a critical role in the Skyhawks 75-74 victory over Eastern New Mexico University (8-2, 4-0 LSC). After several lead changes through the second half, Fort Lewis found themselves trailing by one with just 10 seconds on the clock. Head coach Bob Pietrack called his final timeout as the Skyhawks drew up their final basket. After taking the ball in, Obi Agbim dished it to Garbrah out on the wing and without hesitation, Garbrah drove to the basket as he sealed the game on a layup as the clock expired. 

Garbrah finally had his moment, earned through countless years of sacrifice and dedication to the program. “There is nobody more deserving of a moment like that than Junior,” Pietrack added after the game. 

Skyhawks fans see The Captain, the energy, and the charismatic piece that orchestrates the dawg-like mentality and pursuit that the Skyhawks have on the court. What they don’t see, however, is a student-athlete who left home at seventeen to pursue a dream. A student-athlete who slept on couches without a home and sacrificed his comfort for a chance. A student-athlete who trusted his coaches, invested in himself and those around him, and chose to lift others in pursuit of the team’s goal. 

It all began with Remi Yusuf, a Houston, Texas, native who helped Garbrah start his path in the United States. His journey would begin at Bella Vista College Preparatory, a private school in Phoenix, Ariz., for grades K-12. It was there that Yusuf helped Garbrah meet coach Kyle Weaver: the man who would provide Garbrah’s life-changing chance. 

While at Bella Vista, Garbrah earned a scholarship that allowed him to compete for two years, amongst many teammates seeking Division 1 opportunities in his senior year, Garbrah would average nearly 25.0 points across three games at the Tarkanian Tournament, prompting coach Weaver to take initiative on the young prospect. 

The first coach to love what he heard about Garbrah? Fort Lewis College Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bob Pietrack. 

“Junior is like a glue guy,” Pietrack commented. “He’s someone every team would hope to have, but not everyone gets. You don’t find someone like him anywhere and I can’t express how lucky we are to have had him for the years he’s been here. It all starts with him; his leadership is unmatched.”

Following the traditional road, Garbarah was challenged with a roadblock that many student-athletes struggle to navigate; the pandemic. In 2019-20, Garbrah made eight starts in 28 appearances racking up 160 points. The COVID-19 Pandemic limited him to just 10 games the following year, and in 2021-22, Garbrah saw just 351 minutes of action in 28 total games. 

“I went into the transfer portal in 2020-21,” Garbrah shared. “I had a solid freshman season, but the following year just wasn’t what I wanted. I knew that I could play and felt that I deserved to.” 

Garbrah’s biggest step towards success, however, was a cold-hearted reality check. "It finally began to hit me that I needed to take ownership of myself and the work I put into my craft. I had to face what it truly meant to be a professional and a leader. At the end of the day, you can’t worry about your playing time and the ups and downs throughout a season. If you want to be a pro, you have to get better at your craft regardless of anything else.” 

Soon after came the arrival of one of Garbrah's most impactful role models, current Fort Lewis College men’s basketball Associate Head Coach Tyler Danielson. The two instantly clicked upon meeting one another, and Danielson was locked into helping Garbrah find his opportunity. Due to Garbrah’s international status and unique journey, however, it was difficult to find the right fit. 

“When I met Junior, I was instantly asking why he wasn’t on the team,” added Danielson. “Everyone was asking why Junior wasn’t on the team, and after two months with no luck in the portal, we had a meeting about bringing him back. At that point, Junior made a life change. He was working out every day, cutting weight, getting shots up in the gym, and we talked almost every day about how badly he wanted his opportunity. For myself, it was the first time I’d been further than three hours from home. Junior taught me a lot about how to be mature and deal with the distance of being so far from home.”

Sitting in the transfer portal, and Australia being on a nationwide lockdown during the pandemic, Garbrah had moved into Scottie Stafford’s room with fellow Skyhawks Will Wittman and Cory Seng while Stafford was back home. Wittman eventually ended up donating his bed so that Junior could finally have his own. Once Garbrah exited the portal and decided to remain in Durango with Fort Lewis, and with Stafford’s return, he had moved once again this time with Ra’Shjon Martinez and Ofek Sirkis.

“I couldn’t go home, I truly had no place to go,” Garbrah added. “It was the pandemic, my parents were working hard to support the rest of our family, and flights were wildly expensive.” 

Everything changed, however, when Garbrah was offered the opportunity to stay and continue playing for Fort Lewis. It went beyond just the belief of coach Danielson and coach Pietrack. The Boedecker Foundation had graciously chosen to fund Garbrah’s scholarship for the 2021-22 season. 

With a new chance, Garbrah remained in Durango and spent his off-season working alongside Stafford for Johnny Valdez and the Tava Wu Foundation in Ignacio, Colo. When he wasn’t in Ignacio, Garbrah was perfecting his craft for the betterment of himself and his fellow Skyhawks. 

“We’d go lift at 6:00 a.m. before heading to work. Then it was nine to five all day before playing pick-up and practicing with Scottie, Akuel Kot, and Levy Miguel.” 

Heading into the 2022-23 season, Garbrah finally had his own room, but he and his squad had bigger plans in mind. Garbrah spent most of his time in the gym or hanging out with Kot, Stafford, Obi Agbim, and JaQuaylon Mays, and others. The previous year, Fort Lewis had earned the right to host a first-round matchup in the RMAC Tournament, but the Skyhawks ultimately fell 86-81 to Regis University on their home court. 

“We always sat around and talked about the kind of year we wanted to have. It was conversations about what each of us thought we brought to the table, how we could get back to the RMAC Tournament, and how we were going to win it. As that year went on, we started to see what we could do. Our preseason goal was always to win the RMAC, but then we started realizing we had a real shot at the title.” 

Fort Lewis opened the 2022-23 season on a ten-game winning streak and went on to capture the RMAC Regular Season Championship with a program-record 25 regular-season wins. The Skyhawks then, on a neutral floor in Grand Junction, Colo., marched through the gauntlet of four Top-25 teams to win the RMAC Tournament Championship and guarantee a berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

“It was bigger than us, we were playing for more than us. It was demoralizing for us to have to share the regular season championship. On one hand, we always felt disrespected and never got the credit we deserved. On the other, we wanted to play for all of those people who believed in us, supported us, and wanted to see us succeed.”

Garbrah was one of four Skyhawks to earn RMAC All-Tournament Team honors. 

“I was genuinely shocked. I wanted to be an All-RMAC guy at the beginning of the season. I lost sight of my value for a while during the season. Was God testing me? Was I truly ready? I started thinking about my journey. As a foreign student-athlete, it can be very lonely and tough. To finally have that moment, and to be able to share it with my family on the court, it was an amazing moment and I’m still beyond thankful for it.” 

This past summer, after four long years, Garbrah finally made it back home to Melbourne, Australia. There, Garbrah spent several weeks catching up with friends and family that he had not seen since leaving at seventeen. His focus on basketball, however, remained at the forefront. Garbrah spent countless hours at 4AM Academy and Mic Training, the latter run by family friend Michael Salon who coached Garbrah growing up as he played for the Sparq in Melbourne and RecWest in Braybrook. Garbrah was also given the unique opportunity to train with members of Melbourne United, a professional team in Australia’s National Basketball League. 

“Mentoring Junior from a young age was critical,” Salon added. “Most players at a young age give up when they feel like things are getting too hard. But Junior was a fighter and dedicated. He’s coachable, willing to learn, and understood his role. Watching him evolve from a youth player to moving to the United States is something that makes me so proud. He’s motivated, knows what he wants to achieve, and accepts all of the challenges every day that led him to being the best version of himself.”

Garbrah’s heavy impact on the Skyhawks has been no question. But back in Melbourne, it’s second to none. While training, Garbrah spent last summer volunteering at Mic Training with Salon to help coach up other kids from his local community. 

“His presence alone had kids hyped up and ready to train. He was very vocal in mentoring and motivating each kid to be their best, sharing his experiences of school and basketball in the United States, and every one of them listened. All of the kids aspire to be like Junior, to one day play high-level basketball like him.”

Now, Garbrah is back in Durango and the Skyhawks are 9-1 as they have begun the 2023-24 campaign. Although the roster may look different, the mindset, goal, and expectations remain the same. 

“We still have that doubted chip on our shoulder, and that’s fine," Garbrah expressed. “We know what we want to accomplish and everyone’s on the same page. There are no egos, no statistics, no individual goals, just a next-man-up mentality. These guys that we’ve brought in, they’re all a bunch of hungry dogs. This season we want to make defense our calling card, just shut teams down and be the aggressors. It’s still going to be high-octane offense, but we’re going to bring it on both sides of the ball every night.”