Junior Omari Hall is a men’s basketball player from Detroit, MI. Known for his leadership on and off the court, Hall has helped guide the Yeomen into playoff contention. This week he discusses how the season has gone, what it’s like to play a Division I team and reading people’s minds. 

Moose: What have been the team’s most significant improvements between this year and last?

Omari: I think that we as a team have finally started to create an identity for ourselves. We have tried to establish ourselves as a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team. Some of our new players and the individual improvement of some of our returning players have given us a boost on the offensive end.

M: What have been the most important obstacles that the team has faced and overcome this season?

O: One of the first challenges that we have started to overcome this season is learning to trust each other. In order for us to be a successful unit, we had to learn to play like one. I feel like over the last few games we have really started to trust in each other, both on the offensive and defensive end.

M: What has been your personal best achievement of the season?

O:  I feel like I have come a long way this year. As an upperclassman, I learned that I had to be a leader on and off the court. My best achievement this year has been proving to myself and my teammates that I am a capable leader and an important part of our success as a team.

M: What positive lessons did the team learn from playing at Yale, a Division I program?

O: We learned what it’s like to play at the highest level in college. Moreover, we learned what kind of training, dedication and preparation is necessary to be a Division I athlete. This realization really pushed us to train as hard as we could and not take this opportunity for granted.

M:  What has been your best memory of Oberlin basketball, something that has motivated you throughout your college career?

O: My greatest motivation has always been my parents, especially my mother. She really pushed me to work as hard as I could during my high school career, so that I would fulfill both my athletic and my intellectual potential. (During the summer, I would shoot 500 jump shots every day, and she would stand outside and rebound for me!) Every game I play, I play for my parents, thanking them for being so supportive. So I guess my best memory so far has been scoring my career high with my father in the crowd watching.

M: As a big fan of the Detroit Pistons, who do you think is the best Piston ever, and what attributes do you think made him such a great player?

O: Isiah Thomas! The greatest small guard to ever play the game. Not only was he a great scorer and passer, what was most motivating about him was his heart. He never gave up and never quit on anything. He is the reason why I decided to play basketball.

M: Do you share any similarities with the above player, and do you do anything to try to have your game be similar to his?

O: I can’t compare myself to Isiah as far as skills, but I do try to incorporate that same fearlessness that he had into my game. My teammates know — I don’t back down from any challenge.

M: Now it’s time for this week’s final question. This week’s “Jamaican Graduate School: where the sun always shines so the grass can grow” question is: What would you rather have; Speed Racer’s Mach Five racer that goes five times the speed of sound or the ability to see what everyone around is thinking? Why?

O: Hmm…. If I had the power to read minds, I would be able to help a lot of people, but I would probably also find out some things that I might not have wanted to know…. But if I had the Mach Five, then I’d just be ballin’…. That’s a tough question, but at the end of the day, I think I’d like to be a mind reader.