Meine Zuberi
 Drawn by Betsie | |
| No. - – Retired | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward |
| Species | Secretary Bird ( Sagittariidae ) |
| Gender | Male |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Stokken/Sticks | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Pofadder, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Shoots | Right |
| Career information | |
| School | Amsterdam Avian University (NL) |
| FBA draft | 2013 / Undrafted |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | Xolani Themba (male scimitar-horned oryx) |
| (OOC) Creator | Betsie |
| (OOC) Actor | Betsie |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Biography
Meine (pronounced My-na) definitely didn’t have a glamorous start to his life. In fact, he was as far from it as one can imagine. Meine was born into extreme poverty, starvation, and disease in the slums of Africa. Quite the start to life, really. But despite his sad start to life, complete with his mother passing away shortly after his birth, Meine managed to stay strong much like many other children in the village. He was raised by his older sister, and with the help of some missionaries, he at least got clothes to wear, and games to play. Mainly soccer.
But as he got a little older, a basketball made its way into the village, and Meine was more than interested in this fascinating sport. It took some work and ingenuity for the preteens of the village of jerry-rig a hoop, but they managed it with some help from visiting volunteers. Including a very athletic young man that was quite passionate about basketball, and wanted nothing more than to bring sports to such helpless children. Despite the fact what they really needed was clean water, food, clothes, and shelter.
Meine was used to this, though; ignorant westerners thinking that they were helping and trying to make themselves feel better by sending money and “inspiration” to the poor children of Africa. But Meine had to say, basketball was truly an amazing thing from the west; he developed such a passion for it in just a few short years that one would rarely find him away from the dirt area they used as a court. His only other past-time as a child was snake-hunting in the brush; a natural instinct of his kind and one he didn’t mind nurturing. It gave him food to eat, and precious energy to continue playing his game. His biggest kill, and the one he’s most proud of, was a 10ft black mamba, whose skull he now wears around his neck as a good-luck charm and whose skin he turned into a band to hold back his elongated crest feathers.
At the age of 18, after years of poverty spent hunting snakes and playing basketball, some big-wig from America decided to make himself look extra-special in the eyes of the media. The man, Hubert Olufunke (White Rhino), hand-selected a dozen impoverished children of the age of 18 and sent them to various universities and colleges throughout Europe and North America. Meine was one of those lucky kids. It was a mixed blessing; he’d had minimal education, and only spoke his native languages of Bantu and Afrikaans with bits of English. And Meine was sent to Amsterdam to study and, much to his joy, he had an opportunity to play real basketball. Clean, parquet floors, a basket at the proper height, rules to be followed and new wonderful things to learn.
Despite the joy of finally having a real court to play on, Meine found difficulty in learning to move on the polished floor; he found it to be quite slippery with his scaly feet and rather large talons. Before he could even play the game, he spent hours practicing ways of keeping his grip on the slippery floor. And once he managed to figure that out after weeks of work, he then had to learn the real way to play the game.
His first practice was an utter disaster. The hoop was higher than he was used to, but he flapped his wings to reach it and was promptly called out; back in his village he’d always used his wings to reach the basket or go for a higher jump, and he knew no better. He quickly learned about the one-flap advantage he was allowed and decided to train to utilize it to the best of his ability; his coach had quite a bit of confidence in him it seemed and urged him to train hard and work hard. And he did, but his entire first year on the team was a mess of him fouling out, falling down, and just generally being a poor player. And through all this he was learning Dutch and English as well; it certainly wasn’t an easy thing for him.
Over his first summer in Amsterdam, he spent all his free time (which was a lot of it, he didn’t really have to work as his sponsor kept him fed and clothed) at public courts or at the university court continuing to practice. Reading up on the history of basketball, of the FBA and NBA, rules for the game, and he even started following the FBA come the next fall. Basketball was his passion; it had gotten him through a life of poverty, drove him to greater things, and he swore that he wanted to make basketball his life. By his third year in college, he was the leading scorer on the team, averaging nearly 19 points per game and in his fourth and final year he increased that to nearly 21.
With encouragement from his coach, he ended up contacting his sponsor and asking if the man would be willing to sponsor him one last time to send him to America, seeking a chance to get into the FBA. His sponsor was quite impressed with the idea and was more than happy to do so, and so Meine is now off to America with big dreams to play in the big leagues, with the hope that, if he makes it in, he can send the money back to his home town and truly help them all live a better life.
Just a little about his game...Despite his only playing actual basketball for the last four years, he’s trained hard to learn to use his unique build to his advantage. He may be light for someone his height, but his long legs give him a massive running stride albeit a harder time stopping or dodging around other players. But he’s learned to take full advantage of the one-flap he’s allowed in a jump to block, dunk, steal, and rebound. He even uses it to get a better pass across the court if need be. He plays best close to the basket and hurries to get to that position, whether it be for offense or defense. He doesn’t just look to make baskets though and tries to get the assists just as much. He’s definitely a weak defensive player though, certainly unable to block some of the big furs that play the game, though he is very capable of intercepting the ball with the quick reflexes that comes from years of hunting poisonous snakes.
He certainly still needs some work and training, but with that help he could prove to be a great asset on any team in the coming years. All he needs is a chance.
Gameplay
Meine is tall and light, making him a rather ideal swingfur, but he has always played better as a point guard. His light weight makes it difficult for him to play as forward, usually far out-weighed by his opponents of the same position, making him an easy target and a huge defensive risk. But as a guard, his long legs move him quickly around the court and his footwork is impressive for somebody only training professionally for a handful of years. Years of hunting venomous snakes in the African wilderness has left him able to move those talons skillfully and with precision. He's a bird that certainly won't trip easily and, despite his height, can weave in and out of the other bodies on court with ease.
He has trained hard to not just play well despite his odd height and weight combination, working to find his niche on the court. He has been working hard to perfect the use of his one-flap advantage to give him a better shot, not just at the basic, but when passing. Sharp eyes let him keep track of the ball without ever missing a move.
2014 Season
Meine spent a season in the D-League after failing to be selected at the 2013 draft. After playing for a year in the D-League, Meine decided to return to Europe upon being offered a chance to play for the Marins de Marseille in the EFBL. Meine has selected the number 11 for his jersey and has been told he be playing as a point guard and small forward for the Marins.