The superb performance by the 6-11 senior, Omar Samhan, just lifted St Mary’s College Gaels past 2^nd seed Villanova in the first upset of the 2^nd round in the NCAA Tournament.

The Egyptian-Irish Gael scored 32 of the games 75 points (more than the 5 Aussie players on his team combined), while Nova doubled up his coverage for most of the game. He led his team with a performance that exuded confidence and disciplined play. He acted like the odds were in his team’s favor, and he rubbed off on his teammates. His confident play was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Mr. Sphinx was not heavily recruited out of high school, may be because he was heavy. The kid weighed in at 310 pounds, a little more than ideal for a 6-11 height. But the dude is at 260 lbs now, and his mastery of the game ranks among the best college seniors out there. So his professional prospects just went up massively; may be the San Antonio Spurs have a good fit for him…

And as for St Mary’s, they should retire his jersey immediately, the dude just took them to their 1^st and 2^nd NCAA Tournament wins ever. If he wins in the Sweet 16, they should build him a statue. Although an Omar Samhan Facebook fan club is a good start.

Samhan’s performance and his upset win royally messed up my bracket as I had Nova going to the final four, but I kinda don’t mind that much, I’ll take for a fellow Arab man. Besides, his mom already scolded him for messing up her bracket too.

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3. Keeping An Eye On Omar, or Omer, or Umar
4. Omar Qassis: Administrative Detainee
5. Bow Down Dukies!