Sixers' Dalembert provides guidance, shelter for siblings from Haiti

THIS WAS the day before. The day before a magnitude 7.0 earthquake ravaged Haiti.

"I'm talking to my dad in Haiti about bringing my half-brother over to live with me, to go to school here," 76ers center Samuel Dalembert was saying. "My dad got excited. Finally, he said, 'You're serious.' I said, 'Who better for him to be with, to have an opportunity.'

"I said I had to go to practice, that we would finish the conversation later. The next day . . . "

The next day, Dalembert's homeland was in ruins.

By the time the dozens of aftershocks subsided, more than 3 million people had been affected. More than 230,000 had been identified as dead. Another 300,000 suffered varying degrees of injuries. An estimated 1 million were homeless. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere was awash in shanty towns, in tent communities. People slept in the streets, on pavements. They found food and shelter where they could. If they could.

This was the horror of January.

Fast forward, though, to early February, to the administrative office at Lower Merion High. Dalembert is there with Yohanny, his half-brother, and Severine, his half-sister. He is enrolling them, Yohanny as a sophomore, Severine as a junior.

Yohanny is 6-6, pushing toward 6-7. There is, you have to figure, a basketball story in here somewhere.

"This was totally out of leftfield," said Aces basketball coach Gregg Downer. "I knew nothing about it."

How could he? Dalembert, on his second relief visit to his homeland during the NBA All-Star break, had located his family. His father's house wasn't totally gone, but the walls were cracked and crumbling; it was not habitable. The family was living in a tent outside the house.

"The kids," Dalembert's father said, "have to get out of here."

This was not a basketball story, at least not yet, even if Yohanny was the only student at his school interested in the game, even if he was tall and lean, with what Downer termed "really big hands," suggesting he was not done growing.

"I always wanted to come here, to experience something different," Yohanny said. "I wanted to play basketball. In Haiti, it wasn't possible."

Because Yohanny and Severine are Canadian-born, Dalembert (who also holds Canadian citizenship) said it was not hard to bring them to the United States. Dalembert chose Lower Merion, but not because it is the alma mater of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' star, or even because it recently produced Ryan Brooks (Temple) and Garrett Williamson (Saint Joseph's). Amazingly, though, the day Dalembert took the kids to enroll was the same day Bryant - in town to face the Sixers - was visiting the school.

"It's one of the best schools in the nation," Dalembert said. "I want them to have an opportunity."

Basketball?

"I told [Downer], 'Just see where [Yohanny] is, if he has a passion for the game.' I won't force him to do something he doesn't want to do," Dalembert said. "I told [Downer], 'You're the expert. You tell me.' "

In truth, basketball and volleyball (Severine's interest) are mere subplots here.

"This is a whole new deal for them, a whole new environment," Dalembert said. "Now there is school, then practice, then homework. They haven't had this kind of structure."

But Dalembert wants them with him. He said he is arranging for people to be with them, to supervise, when he is on the road with the Sixers. He calls it "an entourage." He says it lovingly.

The whole scenario touches nerves with Dalembert, under contract with the Sixers for one more season. With salaries of $12 million-plus this season and $13 million-plus next season, money is not an issue. He has a sister, Melissa, playing for the University of South Florida, but he was 14 before he was aware of Yohanny and Severine.

"I kind of found out when I moved to Canada," Dalembert said. "I didn't know before that. I didn't really get a chance to get to know them, because by then I was getting ready to go to the U.S. to go to high school. Once I got to the NBA, I got to know them in the summertime.

"They're not used to the system here. They speak English, but they need serious tutoring. I told them, 'You guys are lucky, because you have a family member, a brother, to help.' When I left Canada at 16, I spoke no English. I was tutored in the summer. I told them, 'You have the upper hand. You have an advantage - a brother, a place you feel comfortable, you already understand English.' I told them, 'Right now, there is no excuse for you to fail.' "

There are memories, though, that need to fade, experiences that need to be fully digested and understood.

"My uncle was driving me home from school," Yohanny said, recalling the day the earth shook. "The car was shaking, people were screaming. I saw a house collapse."

He already knew he "wanted to be with my brother."

"My mom wanted me to go to Canada, to live with an aunt," he said. "It wasn't what I wanted. Sam talked to her."

Downer knows that Yohanny is basketball raw, as he should be. The kids at his school in Haiti were mostly interested in soccer.

"I didn't know it would be that hard; I thought it would be easier," Yohanny said. "But basketball is a premier sport here. I'm ready to take all the chances."

Downer said, "We'll treat him as we would any other player. He'll work out, be coached like any other player. We're looking forward to getting to know him better. We've welcomed them both with open arms. It has to be an incredibly difficult transition. We'll try and make it as smooth as possible. It's definitely a unique situation. I think about the horror they must have seen [in Haiti]."

Dalembert said, "I'll give them all the tools and opportunities I didn't have. I had to find out on my own. I didn't have a mentor when I came. I was lucky. When I realized my talent could take me farther, I took it step-by-step."

For now, for Yohanny and Severine, this is the next step.