Guisse and Banny first came to America through the NBA's international "Basketball Without Borders" program, which helps develop players around the world. In 2005, they went to a camp and did some hoops globetrotting across the country, which included playing in Texas and meeting NBA stars.

The two eventually found themselves headed to Salt Lake City, but it took some connections and work. Parrish and then-SLCC-assistant Michael Ostlund, now Snow College's head coach, got some assistance from former NBA assistant coach Barry Hecker. The Utah resident put in a good word with his friend, Amadou Fall, the Dallas Mavericks' director of scouting who also helps hook up many Africans with U.S. teams. And as they'd say in Banny's native French tongue, "Eh, voila!"

"There's a lot of African players in the country now. It's turned fairly popular, so we're in a battle," Parrish said. "They all are extremely hard workers. They're very grateful. I don't think we've had a meal on the road this year where those two (Guisse and Banny) don't come up and say, 'Thanks.'

There have been challenges, though. Language, for one, can be an issue at times. Both spoke French, and Guisse also used Wolof in his home of Louga, Senegal, but their English was limited when they arrived here. How limited?

"Hi. My name is Banny."

"Hi. I'm tall."

SLCC coaches confused one of their former African players. They'd tell him to set picks on offense, and he thought they were nuts.

"I guess where he was from pick was when you blocked the shot," Parrish said with a laugh. "So he's (wondering), 'When I'm on offense, why would I want to block the shot?'"

Guisse had a similar misunderstanding. Coaches kept telling him he had to "gap" his opponent. Problem is, "Pops," as he's called, had no clue what "gap" meant in hoops speak.

That language barrier does come in handy, however, when opponents or even teammates start trash-talking.

"Sometimes we don't even know what they're talking about," Guisse said. "We just laugh."

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Division I basketball coaches will likely see to it that neither player returns home for longer than a quick visit. The 22-year-old sophomores are being recruited and watched, including by Big West and WAC schools. Their future playing possibilities will expand exponentially if they perform well at "Hutch," seeing as the NJCAA tournament is a four-year college recruiting haven.

Chances are, the coaches will like what they see.