[
2023-24 BASKETBALL PREVIEW
]
42 THE WOLVERINE
❱
NOVEMBER 2023
BY JOHN BORTON
O
l i v i e r N k a m h o u a s o -
journed to Ann Arbor in
the offseason, seeking a
ray of developmental light
following a successful basketball career
at the University of Tennessee. That
sort of search isn't unprecedented for
U-M's newest grad transfer.
The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward
knows what it's like to covet light. In
the dead of winter in his native Helsinki,
Finland, only an hour a day could be en-
joyed. In the summer, it never got dark
at all. Nkamhoua (pronounced KAHM-
wuh) found a safe haven, whether
bathed in sunlight or darkness.
The gym. The work. The game. Bas-
ketball became his constant, from Hel-
sinki to Maryland to Tennessee, and
now to Michigan. It's what he does, and
a big part of who he is.
"I've been that way since I was very
little," Nkamhoua said. "Ever since I've
been playing basketball, I've been living
in the gym."
His Scottish/Finnish mother, Raisa,
and his father, Christian, a native of
Cameroon, met through basketball.
Christian played professionally in Fin-
FINNISH
FOCUS
Basketball Fixation Carried
Olivier Nkamhoua From Finland
To Ann Arbor
