Disy, Turiaf are relatively close
Harry Disy’s postgame ritual rarely changes.
After his North Idaho College basketball games he usually checks in with cousin, Ronny Turiaf, the Gonzaga University standout.
“I’ll be like, ‘I got 12 points,’ ” Disy said. “And he’ll be like, ‘What? You need to score more.’ “
While Turiaf performs in the spotlight at Gonzaga, Disy has followed a slightly different path to NIC, where he is a sophomore starting forward in one of the top junior college leagues in the nation.
They grew up in Martinique, a French-ruled island in the Caribbean Archipelago. Disy’s mother, a teacher in Martinique, and Turiaf’s father are sister and brother. At age 15, Turiaf left Martinique to attend Insep, France’s national institute of physical education, in Paris. A year later, Disy, then 15, did the same and they lived in the same dorm room.
“He used to beat me up (on the court) in high school,” Disy said.
Turiaf has developed into an All-America candidate at Gonzaga. Disy wanted to come to NIC last year, but he didn’t take the TOEFL (English proficiency) exam, an entrance requirement. Disy spent last season at St. Catherine (Ky.) College, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds. He probably would have stayed, but a coaching change prompted Disy to look elsewhere.
The choice was easy. NIC needed height and athleticism. Disy liked the idea of playing in a quality conference and being closer to his cousin.
“It definitely makes it easier to have Ronny here,” said Disy (pronounced DC), who is averaging 10.4 points and 6.9 rebounds, sixth in the Scenic West Athletic Conference. “Last year was hard because it was my first year (in America).”
Disy occasionally attends GU games. Turiaf watched an NIC game in December.
“They’re really close,” said NIC coach Jared Phay, who considers Disy the best athlete on NIC’s team. “They’re more like brothers than cousins.”
They’re alike in many ways. Both speak several languages – Spanish, English, Creole and French – and possess carefree personalities off the court.
“At our Cardinal Christmas camp, the little kids just loved Harry,” Phay said. “He jokes around with them and they just followed him around, bugging him.”
Comparisons are natural, but also unfair. The list of 6-foot-10, 249-pounders as athletic as Turiaf is short. Disy is 6-7 – “6-9 if I let my hair out,” he said – and he usually encounters taller opponents.
“I think he probably gets tired of everybody asking him about Ronny all the time, but he understands because he knows how big Ronny is here,” Phay said. “It’s kind of like being the younger brother. You want to have your own identity.”
Said Disy: “Ronny’s a star here, but I’ve always been with him and around him, so I don’t look at him like a star. I just look at him as Ronny.”
NCAA rules prohibit Turiaf from commenting on Disy because Disy is a recruitable athlete.
NIC stopped a seven-game losing streak with a road win over Eastern Utah on Saturday. The Cardinals entertain traditional SWAC power Dixie State tonight and Saturday, both games tipping at 7:30.
Disy has moved into the starting lineup after curing some early-season foul problems. He’s a high-energy player who uses his leaping ability to rebound and score on the interior.
“Some people, sometimes they want to play and sometimes they don’t want to play,” Disy said. “I’m always excited to play. I always want to go out and do my thing. Yeah, that’s me.”
Disy is drawing interest from Saint Mary’s, Middle Tennessee and Longwood, a Farmville, Va., school in the process of reclassifying to Division I. Disy will have to attend summer school to earn his two-year degree, which is one reason why the list of recruiters isn’t longer.
“I want to go somewhere warm,” he said. “When it snows here, I just stay home.”
He reconsiders for a moment.
“Actually, anywhere would be good,” he said. “I’ll go anywhere.”