BB Chuks-Mady is the lone freshman on the Le Moyne men’s basketball squad.  The 6-foot-8 forward came to Le Moyne from GTA Prep in Brampton, ON, Canada.

In a recent interview, Chuks-Mady discussed why he chose Le Moyne, his goals for the season and the story behind BB.

 

 

Q: Why did you choose Le Moyne?

A: I chose Le Moyne mainly because of basketball and the Occupational Therapy graduate program they have here. I wasn’t really trying to go to school in Canada because the level of competition for ball isn’t as high over there. A lot of Canadian athletes look to come over to the states to pursue their athletics and academics because of the NCAA. Coach B also reached out to me and let me know that they could really use a player like me and I felt comfortable with the team and the campus, so the decision to commit here wasn’t too hard to make.

 

Q: Do you think prep school helped you get here?

A: Prep school definitely played a huge part in helping me with my recruitment coming out of high school. My hometown high school was not a school that would get a lot of NCAA coaches to watch games so going to prep was definitely a move I had to make in order to better myself as a player and pushes my recruitment. Coach B never saw me play in person but he knew what I could bring to the table based off what I did in my film.

 

Q: How do you like living in America? What’s most different?

A: I don’t mind living in America, this isn’t my first time living here because I did go to prep in Philadelphia for my junior year and that was a pretty cool experience as well. The only things I really notice is the way a lot of people talk in this country and the roads are a little confusing in Syracuse, and the Fahrenheit temperature system always throws me off. I’m Canadian, so we use Celsius over there.

 

Q: What role do you expect you’ll have this year on the team?

A: I think I can have a big role, I’m the only freshman on the team, and I hear that coach B doesn’t really recruit freshman, so I feel like he had a good reason for bringing me in here. I guess he saw something in me that he doesn’t usually see in most athletes coming out of high school. I plan to do everything I can on and off the court to make an impact whether that be cheering my guys on from the bench or making plays on the court. This is just year one and I know I have a lot to learn here, but I’m ready to handle that challenge and begin the journey.

 

Q: What is one team goal you have?

A: A team goal I have is to win the National Championship, plain and simple.

 

Q: Does your first name stand for anything?

A: Yes, actually it does stand for something, my name BB stands for Big Boy. It’s a nickname my Dad came up with for me when I was born. My real name is Chiemezue, which is pronounced like Chi-e-mez-way. The reason he calls me BB is because of the complications my mom had when I was being born. I couldn’t breathe properly and doctors predicted my death as a baby.  However, my dad didn’t believe them so he just kept praying to God that I would be okay and I was. He called me BBJ since then for Big boy Jesus, but I just go by BB.

 

Q: Why the hyphenated last name?  What’s the meaning for that?

A: Chuks-Mady is my family last name. It’s just hyphenated. My Dad’s first name is Chuks and our last name is Mady, but when we immigrated to Canada from Italy, they messed up our documents and put my dad’s first name into all of our last names except for his.

 

Q: What’s an individual goal you have for the year?

A: An individual goal I have for the year is to get any type of freshman award if possible and help my team by playing my role to the best of my ability.

 

Q: How ready are you to finally be in the season after a tough fall?

A: Oh, I’m definitely ready, year 1 preseason was definitely crazy, new school, new team, new culture. Now I feel like I’ve finally adapted but I’m learning every day more and more about what we are trying to build here. I’m ready for the season to start and I can’t wait to get this show on the road.

 

Q: Do you like other sports? What are your favorite teams?

A: I definitely enjoy watching other sports as well as playing them. I played high-level travel soccer from 5th grade until my sophomore year in high school. I also played football in high school as well. My favorite teams for club soccer are Manchester United and Bayern Munich; as for football I am a Patriots fan, and I really do enjoy watching the Panthers too.

 

Q: Switching gears, what are some of your other interests/hobbies?

A: Other interests of mine are working out by lifting and playing video games of course. I also watch a lot of TV series and Anime.