TAMPA, Fla. — College basketball season is still a few months away, but there was a lingering issue for the University of South Florida men’s basketball team that is finally resolved.
Russel Tchewa, one of the team’s top players, was not able to return to the United States after visiting family overseas.
The 7-foot, 270-pound junior is expected to be the centerpiece of the Bulls this season.
“At the end of last year, Russel was as good as any post player in our league,” head coach Brian Gregory said. “Very effective offensively and defensively.”
But Tchewa was stuck in his homeland of Cameroon, awaiting the U.S. government to approve his student visa, a process that started four months earlier.
“It’s our understanding that Russel’s application has been flagged,” Gregory said. “They needed additional information. He immediately filled that additional information out.”
But on Thursday, Gregory announced on social media that Tchewa’s visa was finally approved, and he returned to Tampa on Saturday.
“I can’t wait to get back to my USF family,” Tchewa said in a video he posted on social media.
Tchewa returned to Cameroon earlier this year when his father became seriously ill with COVID-19. While awaiting approval, Tchewa was living in a house with about a dozen family members while taking online classes.
“To be honest, this has been a strain on him and a strain on his family,” Gregory said. “Where he is from, his family is not accustomed to having Russel around this long. In a lot of situations, maybe not built for that as well to have a 7-foot, 270-pound guy, the grocery bills are going off the charts right now.”
The Bulls open the season on Nov. 1.
