Finds niche with teaching and coaching
By: Bob Nuse
Even while he was spending time away at Springfield College in Massachusetts, Shahid Abdul-Karim always knew he eventually would be back in Princeton.
"When I first got out of college, I looked at maybe playing overseas," said Abdul-Karim, a Princeton High graduate who played basketball at Springfield, graduating in 2003. "But I felt pretty strong ties to Princeton and I wanted to come back here to teach and coach. I wanted to be able to help the younger kids in town. That’s the main reason I came back here. I love teaching. I don’t see it as work at all. That’s the great thing about it. I try to be a positive influence on the kids."
Abdul-Karim ended up just where he wanted to be. He’s teaching health at John Witherspoon Middle School, while also coaching as part of the boys’ basketball staff at Princeton High. And in the summer he is still playing basketball in the Princeton Recreation Men’s Summer Basketball League, where he is a member of the two-time defending champion team from The Café.
"I played with a lot of these guys growing up. Guys like Marshawn (Ferguson), Ron Ira, Jay Curtis and Richie Wright," said Abdul-Karim, whose team fell to 0-2 with a 46-39 loss to Merrill Lynch on Wednesday night. "We all played together when we were younger, and we’re still together now, which is good. We’re the Princeton team. It’s like when the league started and Tiger’s Tale was all the guys from Princeton. Not too many of those guys are in the league anymore, so we’re like the new Princeton team."
Abdul-Karim has proved to be a bit of a good-luck charm when it comes to the Princeton league. He’s played six seasons in the league and has been a part of four championship teams. He won a league championship each of the last two years with The Café, and also won championships as a member of Tiger’s Tale and George’s Roasters & Ribs.
"These last two have been more significant because I had more of an important role with the team," Abdul-Karim said. "These last two also mean more because of who I have been playing with. These are guys I grew up with or played ball with at Mercer. I played at Mercer with Chris Hatchell and Asmer Fortney. So we’ve all been together a long time."
And it helps that those teams have had the Princeton version of Robert Horry, a player who has won NBA championships with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, and is in the finals this year with the San Antonio Spurs.
"In the aspect of winning titles maybe, but not in the aspect of being a journeyman," Abdul-Karim said of the comparison. "I think of him as a journeyman because he’s been with a lot of different teams."
At this point in his life, Abdul-Karim is more focused on his teaching and coaching than he is with his own playing career. In fact, he has a pretty good feeling about the future of basketball in Princeton.
"We have some good young kids coming up," said Abdul-Karim, who was a three-year starter at Princeton High before playing at Mercer County Community College and Springfield. "The kids who were in eighth grade last year that are going to be freshmen this year are good players. The biggest thing is they have to work at it. The kids in Princeton now have a lot of opportunities that we didn’t have when I played. There were no travel teams then. It was just basketball season and the offseason.
"I want to teach middle school and coach in the high school, eventually coaching varsity some day. Eventually, I may want to get into college coaching. I think with teaching, I found my niche with middle school students. They’re at an age where they need guidance and hopefully I can help give that to them."
He’s also hoping to be able to add a fifth Princeton title to his list, which would put him in good company in league history.
"We’re focusing on trying to get a three-peat," Abdul-Karim said. "We have some new players, but we’ll be looking to be there at the end."