When Dikembe Mutombo (FLL ’91) rose to receive the praise and applause of President Bush and Congress on Wednesday, those who have not followed his career may have been taken aback that a 7-foot-2 professional basketball player would be in the audience at a State of the Union address. But to Mutombo’s teammates, coaches, opponents and loyal fans, this most recent recognition is just another fitting piece of praise for a man who has done so much more off the court than he ever has on it.

Becoming Mount Mutombo

Mutombo has made a living playing tenacious defense and swatting shots, but when he came to Georgetown in 1987, basketball wasn’t even in his plans. Mutombo received a USAID scholarship to become a doctor so that he could return to his native Congo and help his people. The only sport Mutombo had played in his native land was soccer, but things changed quickly when Head Coach John Thompson Jr. spied Mutombo in a pick-up game.

“He said, `Son, I want you on my team.’ I said, `Man, this big man is going to be my coach,'” Mutombo recalls. “I was kind of scared of him in the beginning.”

Thompson took Mutombo’s raw talent and used it to mold him into one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history.

“John Thompson, he taught me so much about defense and what defense can do in my life and my game to make me one of the great defensive player that ever played this game,” Mutombo says.

While Mutombo was forced to switch majors and abandon his dream of becoming a doctor, he has no regrets about joining the team. “I don’t have a regret from playing college basketball,” Mutombo says. “I got a chance to help my family – there is not much I can regret.”

Thanks to an average of 15 points and 12 rebounds per game in the 1990-91 season, Mutombo was an all-American honorable mention as a senior. He graduated with a double major from the College and was taken by the Denver Nuggets with the fourth overall pick in the ’91 draft. Sixteen seasons, four defensive player of the year awards and over 3,000 blocked shots later, Mutombo is still using the tenacity he learned on the Hilltop to propel the Rockets’ defense while all-Star Center Yao Ming is sidelined with an injury.

At 40 years old, “Deke” is still effective under the basket. In Yao’s stead, Mutombo has posted an astonishing 13.8 boards in the month of January.

So when Mutombo offers advice in his deep, raspy voice, his teammates listen. Chuck Hayes, a young defensive specialist who splits time with Mutombo at center, praises the big man’s locker room sage counsel. “Experience, leadership and he keeps the guys focused,” Hayes says. “We can learn so much from him.”

From the looming post player to the diminutive guard, it seems every Rocket has something positive to say about the NBA’s eldest statesman.

“When he [is] on your team in the game you know you can get real aggressive and block some shots,” point guard Rafer Alston says.

The Man Behind the Mount

While Mutombo’s career on the court has been impressive enough to likely join Thompson and other Georgetown greats in the Basketball Hall of Fame, in many ways it has been a footnote to the work he has done in the community.

Mutombo’s $29 million hospital, named after his mother, Biamba Marie Mutombo, and mentioned in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, will open in the Democratic Republic of Congo a month from now. Thanks to Mutombo, it is the country’s first modern facility constructed in decades.

“God asks us, `What is our purpose in this planet?’

“It is to make a difference for the next generation to come,” Mutombo says. “To make a difference, not just for my generation but for my children’s and my grandchildren’s.” Countless organizations have praised utombo for his work in the community. Another famous Georgetown alum, former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68), presented his fellow Hoya with a Presidential Service Award in 1999.

Mutombo says his strong emphasis on community service was inspired by the Jesuit ideals that drew him to the Hilltop.

“To get the opportunity to get to be on the same campus as Jesuit teachers, it kind of helped me a lot,” Mutombo says. “It helped me go out and do what I do, helping those that don’t have what I have.”

Mutombo still follows his alma mater’s basketball team as well as one could expect from an in-season basketball player with two young children and a hospital opening in Africa. He has even challenged current Hoyas to off-season pick-up games.

While Mutombo denies having a favorite player on the team, he does admit that he may have a slight preference for “the young man that is wearing my uniform.” That young man, junior center Roy Hibbert, is developing quite the reputation for his shot-blocking abilities. Mutombo believes that Hibbert’s opportunity to develop for four years gives him the chance “maybe to be better than me.”

“His ability to block shots, I think that will make his name and be known and take it to the next level.,” Mutombo says.

Mutombo stays connected to the Georgetown community so that his children can one day follow in their father’s footsteps at Georgetown.

“I try to take them to the Georgetown campus every year,” he says.

A legend at Georgetown for reputedly exclaiming, “Who wants to sex Mutombo?” the big man has kept his sense of humor over the years, and his teammates appreciate his jokes almost as much as his rebounds.

After praising Mutombo’s leadership, Houston’s Hayes is quick to add, “He keeps it a little lighter in the locker room because he’s a big jokester.”

In the Rockets’ locker room before a recent game, teammates joke about who would win in a one-on-one match up between t. Mutombo and the monstrous Ming.

“If Deke put his elbow pads on, Yao might have a chance,” Alston jokes, referring to Mutombo’s history of elbowing opponents while grabbing rebounds. “But if Deke doesn’t put on his elbow pads,Yao doesn’t have a chance.”

Hearing this, the jumbo Mutombo leans back in his oversized chair and bellows with laughter.

Mutombo grows serious when a reporter asks him about how his career seems to be drawing to a close.

“I am not done, man, Mutombo is not finished,” he says. “Atlanta thought I was finished, the 76ers thought I was finished. It is hard to kill the snake until you take the head off.”

– Benji Barron contributed to this report.