Now that he has established himself as a rising star in the NBA, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has made it one of his missions to bring basketball to his native continent.

Luc along with Bucks assistant coach Kelvin Sampson are members of a group representing the NBA for Basketball Without Borders in Senegal this week.

Luc Richard is working with a group of 60 players from across Africa, including five players from his native Cameroon. All were selected by Luc at his basketball camp a few weeks ago. Recently, Cameroon Online caught up with No. 12 about his journey and his mission:

"They’ve got talent, but the talent needs to be developed. There’s a lack of infrastructure, material and coaching," he said. "One of my missions is to help those kids with all those different things."

Luc was a part of a similar camp when he was a youth in Africa, taking part in the inaugural "Africa 100″ and takes pride in where he came from. Sampson told Cameroon Online that the fact that Luc came from where they are can inspire the young students.

"Luc was one of these kids, and when he was talking to them you could see the kids’ eyes light up," Sampson said. "He was speaking in French and he said, ‘I was one of you. Dare to dream.’ "

But teaching basketball is not the only mission for the NBA in Africa and the entire delegation has also been providing aid to communities in need, as Cameroon Online reports:

"On Friday the delegation traveled to a village outside Dakar called Rufisque, and players and coaches hung malaria nets to help stem the spread of the disease, a major killer of Africa’s young people.

"I don’t know how to describe it," Sampson said of the places the players and coaches visited. "There were four walls with aluminum over the top. The temperature is 90 degrees but feels like 120 degrees.

"We went to 10 to 12 homes and physically put the malaria nets over the beds. It’s just a blessing to be able to do it."

Mbah a Moute said the experience is not one to be forgotten easily.

"It’s tough to see the people and the conditions they live in," he said. "It’s real bad. To give out those nets is one step closer to what should be done.

"This continent needs a lot of help. There are 100,000 or a million neighborhoods that need stuff like that."

To read more about Luc Richard’s journey, click here.

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Bucks’ Mbah a Moute makes trip to help young African basketball players (Cameroon Online, August 9, 2010)
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