Basketball, Baseball
Favorite athlete: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Favorite team: Philadelphia 76ers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Making the state tournament in basketball my junior season
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Having to use the bathroom in the middle of pitching a baseball game.
Music on iPod: 90’s and 00’s Hip Hop, alternative rock, grunge, some pop
Future plans: Attend college on NROTC scholarship
Words to live by: “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,” Matthew 20:26
One goal before turning 30: Visiting Mt. Everest
One thing people don’t know about me: I love to read.
By GORDON GLANTZ
Looking for an ordinary kid from an ordinary background?
You best look past Central Bucks West senior power forward Nico Munari, the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week.
In every way, every day, he is the definition of extraordinary.
“He’s not your typical young man,” said coach Adam Sherman of his tri-captain.
So a-typical that Sherman didn’t think Munari owned a cell phone until this year, based on the coach’s inability to reach him and having to use other players as go-betweens.
“That's pretty good,” said Munari. “I have had a cell phone since sixth grade, but never an iPhone or other similar smart phone. He probably thinks that I have only had one since last year because I have a bad habit of rarely having my phone on my person, as I tend to leave it in my backpack.
“I have actually been asked this before and have developed a philosophy. While a smart phone can be a powerful tool, it can also be very distracting. In my experience, the ability to devote one’s full attention and focus is a quality missing from many of my contemporaries.”
Not being mesmerized by a handheld device is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what sets Muneri apart.
“He wasn’t exposed to a lot of basketball,” continued Sherman. “He never played travel or AAU.”
Unlike football, where a big and athletic kid can be made into a player without having played since he was in diapers, it is a little different in hoops.
“In basketball, it is very rare,” said Sherman. “In this day and age, you don’t see many good high school players who haven’t gone the AAU route.
“To see him grow so much has been really neat.”
When told of his coach’s words, Munari was typically humbled.
“That’s a big honor,” he said. “I have grown to really love the game. I enjoy playing with my friends. It’s all about love for the game.”
An Interesting Situation
When you consider Munari’s improbable journey to the starting lineup of a state-caliber squad, it is not as hard to conceive set against the backdrop of his inspiring family story.
Nico, the oldest, is the only biological child of Marco and Michelle Munari. He has six adopted siblings and the family is working on another addition,
“His family is amazing,” said Sherman. “You look at them and it makes you feel like you are not doing enough.
“I constantly get compliments from other teachers about his character and the type of person he is around the school. He is so selfless. That goes back to the home he was brought up in.”
Because his parents began adopting when he was still a toddler, there was never any resentment.
“This is my family,” he said, adding that his parents met at the University of Maryland’s campus in Germany, where Michelle, raised by a single mother in West Virginia, was attending. “It’s the only thing I’ve known. My family has been blessed in America, being able to provide for their kids. They listened to their hearts and responded.”
When asked to describe his siblings, Nico does so willingly, and lists his parents and family – followed by his coaches and teammates – as his greatest source of inspiration.
There is 16-year-old Samuel and his two biological sisters, 13-year-old Eden and 9-year-old Bethlehem are from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethopia.
“(Samuel) loves to play soccer and basketball, a sport he had never heard of before coming to America,” said Munari, adding that the three have spoken English fluently for two years and they all attend public school.
“Obviously, America is a very different place than Ethiopia, where their home had a dirt floor, and their only source of electricity came from a single lightbulb. A hyena once broke into their house at night, and water is often unavailable for days at a time. Though they never starved, food was a commodity and their family only ate one meal a day.”
And it’s not like Munari is getting this information second-hand.
“Even from my experience of traveling to Ethiopia for seven days, it was obvious that it is a very poor country, though its people were always friendly and courteous,” he said. “The three were living with their mother and father, but about five years ago, they both passed away within a very short time of each other. After being cared for by a neighbor for a few months, the three were sent to live in a state-run orphanage in Addis Ababa, where they lived for almost two years. My family, who has been both a foster and adoptive family throughout my life became interested in this sibling group and decided to add them to our family.”
It was a similar story with biological brothers – Luka, now 14, and Mika, 12 – who were originally from Richmond, Va.
“My family adopted them through Catholic Charities when they were both babies, around the time they were a few months old,” said Munari. “I was pretty young when they joined my family, and have very few memories before then. Luka runs track and plays football, while Mika plays football and basketball.”
Isabella, 10, holds a special place in Munari’s heart.
“She is originally from Philadelphia, and we got her almost directly from the hospital,” he said. “She has the same birthday that I do, November 12, so I said that she was my ‘birthday present.’”
The next Munari is a young Ethiopian girl, Mekeda, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
While it sounds like fodder for a feel-good Disney movie, it has not always been easy.
“We’re a bi-racial family,” said Munari. “That’s not something you see often. We have stood out. It is an interesting situation.”
Love of the Game
Marco Munari looks like a retired NFL offensive lineman, checking in at 6-8 and 330 pounds. The truth is that the Italian-born family patriarch only played soccer and some ice hockey growing up.
Nico followed in his dad’s footsteps, also playing mostly soccer – and baseball (he is a reserve outfielder on the CB West squad) -- but gave basketball a try at Lenape Middle School. When he entered Sherman’s orbit, he was athletic but raw. He was a willing pupil, and although already 6-3, he was lacking in fundamentals.
“In ninth grade, that first year, we went back to square one,” said Sherman. “He made himself into a basketball player. He was 6-3 and athletic, but he never grew another inch.”
That may have been a bit of a bummer, given his father’s height, but Sherman is expressing no regrets with how it has all turned out.
“Like I said, he was very raw, but no other player I coached has improved – from ninth to 12th grade – the way he has,” said Sherman. “It was neat. He has been like a sponge.”
He may not have grown another inch, but his shoulders grew wider by virtue of dedication to the weight room. By the time Munari honed his game for two years on the junior varsity level, he was a frontcourt reserve that was a virtual rock of granite by the time he emerged as a junior who had given up soccer altogether.
“I played a lot of soccer when I was younger,” he said. “I stopped playing to focus on basketball. I love to play basketball.”
Strong as a Bull
Munari’s improvement was more than drills. It involved infectious diligence.
“He is more of a leader by example, but the other kids all have the utmost respect for him,” said Sherman. “He is the last kid to leave the weight room, the last to leave practice. He’s going to be successful in life, not matter what he does.”
This year, as a starter, he remains a force, pacing the team in rebounds and blocked shots – not to mention charges absorbed.
“He is our post presence,” said Sherman. “He does a lot for us. … He doesn’t mind working hard. He’s just a special kind of kid.”
And that is where the work in the weight room has paid dividends.
“He’s as strong as a bull,” said Sherman. “Typically, he is the strongest kid on the floor.”
The strategy is simple. Other players from opposing teams might have a height advantage, but not in strength.
“I know guys are going to be bigger,” said Munari. “(Being stronger is) an equalizer at this level.”
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Sherman says that Division III schools have “reached out” about Munari, but those schools need to match up with his intention to follow the Navy ROTC path while majoring in engineering.
If a school doesn’t offer all three, basketball will only be played for fun in pick-up and intramural games.
Munari realizes that playing collegiate basketball is “on the table as an option” but adds that he is “OK, with not playing” for the first time in several years.
“I’m looking forward to ROTC,” said Munari, who has been accepted to Drexel and George Washington on the strength of a 3.45 grade-point average and strong test scores (31 ACT, 1910 SAT). “That’s my next goal.”
Munari explained that he was inspired by many of the older players on successful Bucks’ teams when he was still a raw project, and was equally determined to pick up where last year’s team left off after playing a key role in its success.
“I always looked up to the older players,” he said, referring to a playoff run when he was a freshman. “I loved their work ethic. I’m trying to pass that down to our younger guys.
“I’m more of a leader by example. I’m not a real rah-rah guy, but when the game gets exciting, I’ll be there. Actions speak louder than words.”
The postseason begins for the Bucks Friday night when they host Great Valley in the first round of district play.
“Last season, we had a great run,” he said. “I know this might be my last time to play. It has motivated me to work hard.”
Whether it is on the court, at home with his family or out in the world, it is the same mentality he looks to carry in the Navy ROTC program.
“I’ve been blessed with athletic ability, and with gifts to go out and help other people,” said Munari, who has done missionary work abroad and looks forward to travelling. “With the Navy ROTC, it’s an opportunity to provide for those who can’t provide for themselves.”
Not an ordinary young man, but expected from an extraordinary background.
“Though they are not officially part of my family, we have had over 35 children in my home throughout my life, placed through the foster care system,” he explained. “We have loved these children anywhere from a few days to about a year while they were in our care.
“I have been proud to serve through missions trips to Casa Hogar Orphanage in Acapulco, Mexico in the summers of 2010 and 2011. Also, while in Ethiopia I visited and served at AHOPE Orphanage for HIV orphans in Addis Ababa.
“While I certainly hope that I helped and loved the people that I was serving during these trips, I will carry their effect on me for the rest of my life.”
