Ferd Lewis: Former Hawaii sharpshooter Sai Tummala targets career in medicine

In otherwise darkened cabins on red-eye road trip flights when the rest of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team was asleep, Sai Tummala’s reading light would invariably be on as he studied.

During down time, when teammates turned to video games and music, Tummala could be found buried in homework.

For the seventh man on the Rainbow Warriors’ 2015-16 Big West Conference championship and NCAA Tournament team, the latest payoff for his diligence and dedication came with the announcement that he has been offered a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Ariz., following graduation in May from the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Tummala, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward, was a key reserve with the ’Bows and their best 3-point shooter percentage-wise (39%). He averaged 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, playing an average of 17.2 minutes on a team that went 28-6 overall and 13-3 in conference. Nine times, including a 17-point game against Montana State, he scored in double figures.

There were times in his college basketball career, first at Arizona State and, then, as a graduate transfer to UH, that Tummala said that the dual pursuits of competing in major college athletics and prepping for medical school “were tiring and you didn’t always want to (study), you wanted to be able to do something else, like listening to music or watching movies. But it (medical school) was a goal I had.”

One time, he got right off a plane from Omaha, Neb., where he had been for a medical school interview, and scored 14 points against UC Davis.

“I think that period of my life really set me up to be successful in medical school. I learned back then kind of what it takes to be successful, not only in sports, but also what it takes in sacrifice to do well in school as well,” Tummala said.

“Once I got to medical school (the experience) really translated well for me in what it takes to do well and also being able to sacrifice and put in the work to do it. Orthopedics is a competitive specialty that requires you to do really well in medical school and I think the time before medical school really set me up to take advantage of the opportunities that JABSOM offers.”

When he was able to watch UH games this season, Tummala said, “I really feel like the years have flown bye. It feels like (basketball) was yesterday.”

Tummala said, “What we had with that team was pretty special. It was unbelievable the way everything came together. I think my teammates respected (the goal of becoming a doctor) and supported me. We still talk about it to this day. A lot of them will be transitioning out of basketball and finding other careers and we talk about how to set goals and achieve them.”

He has already been an inspiration and trail blazer of sorts for a younger sister, Shilpa, who played guard at Harvard and is in her first year of medical school in Colorado.

Initially, Tummala said UH was but one of his options and probably a one-year stay at that. But after his graduate season, admission to JABSOM and time spent there, “It will be hard to leave, as I love Hawaii and the people here. This is a community that I really care about and feel strongly connected to, (so) it will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope to return after finishing residency.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.,com or 529-4820.