University of Hawaii basketball preview: Big man Zigmars Raimo fulfilling his American dream

The Latvian city of Madona is clean, affordable and spacious.

In the winter, ponds become hockey surfaces. In the summer, the nearby forests — with Disney inhabitants such as deer and moose — are for adventure or deep thoughts.

It is where Zigmars Raimo began to think about the American dream.

“First, the dream was to play basketball as long as I can,” Raimo said. “In 10th grade, I realized that in basketball, I could earn a scholarship in America. Since then, the dream was to play NCAA basketball in America.”

Raimo certainly had the athletic talent. As a youngster, he competed in track and field. After school, he would play pick-up hockey. But it became obvious he was most at ease on a basketball court. “I started loving it,” he said. “Being part of a team, part of a family, having something to do every day, it was just great.”

He eventually received an invitation to join one of Latvia’s national teams. “It was a super big deal for my city,” Raimo said. “Basketball wasn’t really popular in my city.”

One of the tours had a stop in a city where Raimo’s great uncle lived. After the game, Visvaldis Eglitis invited Raimo to his home. Eglitis, who was a member of the USSR’s national team, brought out the gold medal from the 1965 European championships.

“It was really heavy, too,” Raimo recalled. “It gave me a lot of motivation.”

Eglitis said he would never sell the medal, even though it could provide financial comfort for his family. He kept that vow to his death, in 2014.

“It was great to look at (the medal),” Raimo said. “Hopefully one day, I’ll be able to show my grandchildren the same thing, a gold medal, so they can get motivated like I did.”

As a senior at Riga Secondary School, Raimo contacted Davis Rozitis, also from Latvia, who had played for the Rainbow Warriors. “He said it was the best four years of his life, and it was an incredible experience,” Raimo recalled.

Raimo signed with the ’Bows in 2016. He played in 53 games his first two UH seasons. He admittedly ate well but did not train well enough. His weight ballooned to 252 pounds on his 6-foot-9 frame.

“After my second year, I realized I’m going to get a lot of playing time if I changed my body,” said Raimo, who spent the 2018 summer working out intensively and eating sensibly. “The hard work pays off.”

Raimo became an interior force last season. Now, as a 228-pound senior, he has emerged as leader, a role that is not unfamiliar. During a hunting outing in Latvia, his group of friends killed a moose. “That moose was huge,” Raimo said. “We had to drag it out of the forest. It was super hard. They were acting because I was the biggest guy, I had to be in front and drag it out.”

Now, Raimo is leading the way as a UH co-captain. “I’m living the dream,” Raimo said.

AT THIS POSITION

NO. PLAYER CL HT WT HOMETOWN

5 Bernardo da Silva Fr. 6-9 200 Rio das Ostras, Brazil

3-star athlete who decommitted from BYU has a 72-inch wingspan

11 Mate Colina So. 7-0 245 Melbourne, Australia

Back-to-basket center counts 2005 NBA No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut as mentor

14 Zigmars Raimo Sr. 6-9 228 Madona, Latvia

97.8 percent of his career shots have been launched inside the arc

15 Owen Hulland So. 7-0 230 Adelaide, Australia

Stretch-5 is recovering from ankle injury

44 Dawson Carper So. 7-0 250 Colorado Springs, Colo.

Led team in FG pct. (63.5) and rebounds/minute (0.3)