Former Terp Greivis Vasquez was honored at the White House for running youth sports camps in his native Venezuela.
Greivis Vasquez is a Terrapins men’s basketball icon.
Known for his characteristic “shimmy” and flamboyant style of play, the Caracas, Venezuela native understands entertainment. He became a national storyline when he led his team to a share of the 2010 ACC Championship, and he is perhaps the most recognizable Terp since Juan Dixon.
And now, two years removed from entering the NBA, Vasquez is once again making headlines.
The winner of the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, given annually to college basketball’s top point guard, was honored Friday at the White House in the “Champions of Change” event, part of a weekly ceremony in Washington to honor those making a difference in their communities.
Vasquez was recognized for youth sports camps in his home country, which he runs in partnership with the U.S. State Department’s sports diplomacy program. His goal is to give kids growing up in Venezuela opportunities he never had when he was younger, he said.
“It was something I will never forget,” Vasquez said Monday. “It was a pleasure. It was an honor to be there in the White House receiving that award. I couldn’t believe it at first.”
Vasquez joined eight other “champions” under the theme “Connecting the Americas.” All nine honorees were involved in some sort of community activism to help members of the Latin American diaspora, including El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela.
“They were great people,” said Vasquez, who started 26 games for the New Orleans Hornets last season. “I was really impressed. It was unbelievable the way they inspired other people and worked for their communities and how they do things.”
Vasquez said his professional basketball career gives him a platform to make an impact on the country that helped raise him. It’s an opportunity he doesn’t take lightly.
“I went through a lot to get to the NBA,” Vasquez said. “So what I’m trying to do is go back to the community and have the youths understanding that if I made it, they can make it, too.”
On Monday, Vasquez was preparing to fly back to Venezuela for two weeks to be with his family and run basketball clinics and camps. He’ll then return to the U.S. to prepare for the upcoming NBA season and plan next summer’s charitable efforts.
The former Terps star has hardly forgotten about his time in the Mid-Atlantic. He expressed a desire to do a number of camps and speaking engagements at high schools in Maryland, Washington and Virginia.
It all comes back to Vasquez trying to make a difference.
“If I speak two languages, they can speak three languages. If I get my degree in college, you can get it, too,” Vasquez said. “Everything is possible by just working hard.”
dgallen@umdbk.com
