Luanda is a lively city. The capital of the group, and its main port on the west coast of South Africa, is a home for amazing sea paths and a stretch of museums rich in local history. With a population, this is about the size of 16 Baltimor.

There, the University of Maryland is a household name.

“It seems that people only know Maryland, Maryland, Maryland,” said Bruno Fernando, leaning on his angola accent by clicking his tongue through ‘R’ and ‘Y.’ “The dream school of every Angola child is probably Maryland, real.”

Fernando grew up in Luanda and introduced Angola to College Park almost a decade ago. The impossible school and state connection, which is separated by the ocean, by chance with a matching color palette, continues to be nurtured by senior guards Terss Fifth, Selton Miguel.

On the Instagram page for Agostinho van-dúnem, tucked between the video of the Angola ambassador video for the United States who rubbed his shoulders with high-ranking officials and images walk beside former President Joe Biden, is a video of Miguel’s crude mobile phones that knocked down 18 feet jumper in Cansius.

After the match, Van-Dúnem posed next to Miguel holding a large and funny Angola flag standing on the field at the Xfinity Center. The embassy of Angola’s social media page has four images that show van-dúnem with biden. Among these are photos with Miguel. What is saying about the self -esteem with the ambassador holding one -only Basketball Anggolan College player in Division I now?

“I don’t think Maryland is aware of how much the impact they have in Angola,” said Fernando.

The seeds of such impacts begin with Fernando. Center 6-Kaki-10 and four-star prospects from the IMG Florida Academy grew in an environment called Morro Bento, driving 11 minutes from Miguel’s childhood home in Talatona.

Fernando is committed to Terspes in October 2016 – at that time, considered as good for former coach Mark Turgeon. It only takes two seasons to find its way into the history of the program: Top 10 in the eight statistics categories, including bound to the double seasons of the second single (22) and the percentage of the target of the sixth best season (0.670). Fernando received the Award for the All-Big Ten first team when leading Terss to the second round of the NCAA tournament before the Draft Pick Pick the second round made him the first Anggolan player to make the NBA.

When Miguel entered the April transfer portal, Fernando never pressed him to choose College Park. “This is your choice,” Fernando told him, insisted that his success would not guarantee Miguel’s. But Miguel, who rose from the State of Kansas to South Florida, was sold with the idea of ​​playing the last year of higher education basketball in a school that hugged basketball and had a history of victory.

“[Fernando] Tell me to be one of the two Angolans who had played for Maryland, “Miguel said. “I just tried to continue the inheritance.”

Miguel has started every match this season and is the fifth top scorer of TERMP (11.9). Coach Kevin Willard clearly called him the “bucket taking” and the type of guard he did not need to determine. Miguel ranks fourth in Assist (57) and stealing (22). In contrast to his predecessor Angola, he was the sharpest 3-point shooter at Maryland No. 13 (42.4%) to the last match of the regular season.

Miguel and Fernando basketball careers have different launch points before finding friendship in the local club team, De Agosto.

There is a local park on the road from Miguel’s childhood home with a basketball court that is a meeting place for children in the environment. “I’m happy to be there,” Miguel said. “I might not know what I was doing.” Then he shot from 5-4 to nearly 6 feet when he was 10 years old. His father suggested maybe it’s time to take a more serious basketball.

Fernando grew up with tight parents, four brothers and two sisters, so if there is a nearby garden that can start his basketball career, he does not know it and will not leave. His siblings played soccer and “the only way [my dad] Will let me go outside is if I go with my brother. “Then Fernando – who remembers Miguel is 6 feet 8 at the age of 14 – joining what they call the best club team in Angola.

De Agosto is a group of friends formed: Miguel, his brother, Rifen, Fernando, Silvio de Sousa and Eric Amandio.

Four out of five are the same age. Miguel is two years younger. Basketball eats it. Both Miguel and Fernando do not offer special memories from these formative years. The group followers “especially playing basketball,” said Fernando. They began to take the game seriously at an early age. That’s all they want to do: go to play ball, go home, eat together and go to play again.

When Miguel was 11 years old, he and Rifen moved to Portugal with their father. Forward quickly, they met with the rest of the quintet in Florida to play high school soccer.

Fernando and De Sousa went to IMG before Fernando was moved to the Montverde power plant for his senior season. Miguel, Rifen and Amandio chose West Oaks Academy, a private school in Orlando that has become a feeder for Angola basketball talent (in part, thanks to Miguel).

According to Realgm, a site that is described by himself to complement basketball, there are only 15 Division I basketball players from Angola. De Soususa, the target of Terspes’s recruitment, playing frugally in Kansas before moving to Chatanooga. Big man Virginia Barat Eduardo Andre was born in Luanda but moved to London before he could take basketball.

Aman to say that no Angola has reached the height of a basketball that is larger than Fernando and Miguel: Maryland icon which is now in the NBA and TERMP starter in the team that can make noise in March.

Two Plus De Sourusa, who is currently playing professionally in Israel, is suitable for the last summer for the Angola national team, playing in the Olympic qualifying tournament.

“We feel like the first generation that changes culture,” said Fernando, “explained we came to the US as a group and we all began to succeed in our own way. And we made a big impact at home.”

The youngest of this group continues the inheritance at College Park and works hard to pay it forward.

With the help of his two siblings, Rifen and Henrique, Miguel started the Nirba Foundation, M3M. This is a way for him and his family to invest in their home community. It was partly through the donations of basketball equipment and school supplies. “All of these children see Selton, and that is what they want,” Rifen told umterps.com. That is why he and Fernando were welcomed with open arms in a meeting by Angola politicians or community leaders. And why Miguel gets a applause when he visits his old elementary school or his former club team.

“I can tell you, more children just because it has happened,” said Fernando, “now, they think they have the opportunity and the possibility for one day to attend Maryland too.”

Have news tips? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com410-332-6200 and x.com/samdCohn.