Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Ali Raza knows he's in a unique position to be a role model for Pakistani- and Muslim-Canadian youth.
Born in the South-Asian country, he moved to Canada when he was two as his father accepted an academic scholarship to the University of Saskatchewan.
Fast forward 19 years and he's the leading scorer and rebounder on the MacEwan men's basketball team – averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He will lead the Griffins into a weekend home series against UNBC (Friday, 8 p.m. and Saturday, 7 p.m., both games Atkinson Gym).
"In my culture, athletics are not that important at all," he explained. "You don't see a lot of Pakistani athletes today as a role model, so I feel that's kind of pushing me to work towards that – for the kids who love to do sports, instead of the typical doctor or engineer degree, to chase their dreams.
"Being Muslim, too, you don't see that role model in media portrayal. If you hear about a Muslim person, you kind of get a stereotypical perspective," he added. "Being athletic and of a Muslim and Pakistani background, it does make me want to do more for my community. The younger kids, getting them into sports and other things and just to be themselves – that's the biggest thing."
In his youth, Raza took up the game of basketball when his family moved to Brooks, Alta.
"It wasn't as diverse as you'd think, so basketball was a way for me to fit in," he said of the start of his hoops journey that continued in Calgary after moving there, blossoming at Crescent Heights high school.
"Slowly, after playing, I just kept sticking with it. I wasn't always the best. I was under-recruited coming out of high school. It's always given me a chip on my shoulder just to prove to myself that it doesn't matter what anybody says about you. You just go out there and put the work in.
"I feel it paying off, too, just seeing how things are going right now. I love to work. That's the best thing for me," he added. "I don't really think about the results. I'm in love with the process of it, so that's the biggest thing for me."
The process initially took him to St. Mary's University in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, where he proceeded to win the league's rookie of the year award after averaging 15.6 points and 8.67 rebounds per game.
"It was very special. I'm pretty sure it was a first for a St. Mary's player to get it," he said. "Just having that was a blessing. ACAC's sometimes under-estimated for the competition level it is. There's a lot of talented players in there."
That prepared him for a bench role with the veteran Griffins last season (he averaged 11.8 minutes a game) and ultimately set him up to be a leader for a young MacEwan team in 2017-18.
"I think it's just sort of the progression that's natural for players coming from the ACAC," said Griffins head coach Eric Magdanz. "Last year was the perfect learning opportunity for Ali. He got to come in and had a chance to learn from a lot of experienced, skilled, older athletes. He got his feet wet with Canada West and I think that made him hungry for a bigger opportunity. He knew that was going to come and be available for him this year. He really put in the work this summer to take advantage of this opportunity."
Raza, who noted he had a triple-double on his first weekend with St. Mary's, already has a double-double this season for the Griffins (17 points and 10 boards against Lethbridge on Nov. 3).
"Ali's kind of a tale of two people," said Magdanz. "He's just the most humble, quiet guy off the court and then you put him on the court and he becomes this fierce competitor. He's a pretty remarkable person, being able to turn on and off that switch."
On the Griffins, Raza has also been reunited with longtime friend Adonis Monfort-Palomino. He played club basketball with the point guard in Calgary and went against him and his Sir Winston Churchill squad in high school play.
"I never thought we'd play on the same team in (USPORTS)," said Raza. "We were just going our own routes and somehow we met up again. It's a great experience to play with him. He's been one of my favourite players to play with throughout my whole career – probably one of the best players I've played with – and it's just good to have him there.
"I feel like on the court when we play together, we do things that are just kind of natural. We'll switch on a player without even (talking about it)," he added. "We just know each other's game really well and we're just always there for each other. It's really good."
Raza is a leader for his team, his community and also wants to be an ambassador for his high school. The sky's the limit as he pursues his dreams.
"Being Canadian is another thing I'm very proud of," he said. "There's so much opportunity here to be able to do whatever you want, whether it's to be a journalist, an athlete, an actor. Whatever shape or form of work it is, you have a chance to be whatever you want to be."
