Rhamat Alhassan played basketball almost her entire life.
Just a few months ago, the 6-foot-4 freshman from Glenarden, Maryland was an athletic three-star recruit with long arms and a natural ability to protect and score at the rim.
Ultimately, Florida’s newest and tallest addition opted to take the path less traveled, accepting a scholarship in an unfamiliar sport over her former forte.
“I kind of based it on (that) volleyball was a new year and I was less burnt out on it,” Alhassan said.
It was a tough and unexpected decision for the highly touted freshman, but a simple enough one for coach Mary Wise and the Gators.
“Rhamat could be playing basketball at a lot of places right now,” Wise said. “We’re very lucky she chose volleyball.”
Alhassan began playing volleyball her sophomore year at Academy of the Holy Cross. Even as a senior, she was relatively new to the sport and still a raw talent, but her seemingly unlimited athletic potential caught the attention of Florida’s scouts.
“Dave Boos, our assistant head coach, was the first one that saw her and texted us, ‘you won’t believe who’s in the gym,’” Wise said. “It was a phone call that night and he said, ‘Rhamat’s here, and she’s definitely going to be number one on our list.’ I said, ‘Oh so she’s that good?’”
“Oh no, she doesn’t know anything about the game,” Boos replied.
While Alhassan’s lack of volleyball knowledge is easily her largest downside, her innate ability to learn on the fly is just as imposing as her towering stature.
“What has been so impressive just in these first few days is what a great learner she is,” Wise said. “Sometimes for players it takes them a while before that light comes on for them to learn and change skills and take it all in… every indication is (Alhassan) has great ability to learn.”
And not just about volleyball.
“(UF) has a great computer science program, which is what I want to major in,” Alhassan said.
Despite her severe lack of playing experience as a high school junior, the lanky middle blocker used her athleticism and intellect to last until the final round of cuts at the USA youth national team tryouts, all while competing alongside peers who had been playing volleyball since they were old enough to hit one.
A year later, Alhassan made the junior national team, carried USA to a Gold Medal and was named MVP.
The fact is, despite only playing the sport for a fraction of the time as the rest of her Florida teammates, Alhassan has already accomplished far more.
However, there will be no shortage of challenges and rough patches this season as she continues to grow accustomed to volleyball.
“The speed of the game will definitely be one of the biggest challenges for me, being able to move at that speed and getting used to it,” Alhassan said.
With her lack of experience comes a resume that few collegiate players can replicate, and that should undoubtedly help the 18-year old transition from playing under a basket to playing above a net.
“The summer after (Alhassan’s) junior year that she tried out for the youth national team, the fact that she even made one of the last cuts is incredible,” Wise said. “A year later, she’s the MVP.
“When we talk about a learning curve, hers has been a straight line.”
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
