Local basketball standout Omar Samhan is headed to the NBA. Though the St. Mary College star was passed over in the NBA draft, the Dallas Mavericks want him to play for them, at least for the summer.
Samhan signed a summer league contract with the Mavericks. Depending on how we does, that could mean a regular season deal, according to NBC Bay Area Sports Director Raj Mathai.
Samhan told MavsBall.com that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tracked him down through Facebook. "I didn't know if it was real at first," Samham said in the podcast for the site. When Samhan talked to Cuban it wasn't the first time, though Cuban may not know that. "I met Mark Cuban during the summer league out of high school. I asked him for an autograph, I was like 17, " Samhan said. "I told him I wanna play for him someday and he laughed."
Samhan will head to Dallas this week for the summer, and hopefully beyond. He said he'd be a great addition to the team because of his hustle and hard work on the hardwood and also because of his community involvement. Though he may have a soft spot for his community, he has the word "beast" tattooed on the inside of his lip.
This summer the 265-pound center - who says he's 6' 10 1/2" barefoot - wants to get stronger, faster, more explosive in order to be ready for the start of the NBA season. Perhaps it could be the beginning of a full-time NBA career.
Samhan graduated from St. Mary's this spring, after taking the team to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen tournament. He grew up in San Ramon.
