Q&A: Saint-Gelais dreams of sky diving

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week The Volante sports staff will interview a member of the USD athletic community and ask them off-the-wall questions. Enjoy the hilarity.

Junior Allen Saint-Gelais is a forward for the University of South Dakota men’s basketball team from Guadeloupe, France.

Kelly Stewart: How did you first get into basketball?

Allen Saint-Gelais: I was playing soccer when I was young on the playground next to my house, and I was really into it. One day, one of my friends came to the playground with a basketball instead of a soccer ball and then we just started playing basketball instead.

KS: Have you always lived in Guadeloupe?

ASG: Yes, I was born and raised there. I left when I was 15 to go play basketball in France for two years, and then I played my high school senior year in L.A. I then got picked up by Grambling State in Louisiana, and then I went to a JUCO in Wyoming for one year before coming to USD.

KS: What do you like and dislike about America?

ASG: I like the fact that there is so much stuff to do, and if you work really hard, you can be really successful here. However, because everything is so big here, you need a car, and I don’t have a car. That’s a problem.

KS: What’s your favorite American food?

ASG: I’d have to go with rice and chicken. I don’t really know if that’s American, but I love it. I also love the Mexican food in the U.S.

KS: What are your goals in life?

ASG: I just want to be successful at whatever I do, either in sports or whatever I pick. I’m just trying to maximize my potential to be the best that I can be. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I’m going to do my best to be the best.

KS: What is your favorite memory?

ASG: It’s not necessarily my favorite memory, but it’s a memorable moment. My grandpa had passed away this past year on Christmas day, and we played Oral Roberts a few days after that. I played a pretty good game, and I just feel like he was watching over me during that game.

KS: Do you have any phobias?

ASG: I don’t think so. I’m really not afraid of much. I love the dark, especially when I sleep. I’m not claustrophobic. Spiders and snakes don’t scare me. I love heights, too. I want to sky dive one day.

KS: What is your most embarrassing moment?

ASG: I can’t tell you that. But one embarrassing moment I’ve had one day in high school, we were playing a ranked team. I saw this little guy coming down the lane, and I thought “Okay, because he’s little, he’s not going to dunk over me,” so I said, “Okay I’m going to take the charge.” I jumped a little bit, and he ended up dunking on me and getting the foul. To top it all off, a picture was taken of it and put on MaxPreps.com, and I got a lot of crap for it.

KS: What’s your hidden talent?

ASG: I don’t think I have one. Maybe I’m a little funny, sometimes. I think I can play a lot of different sports and be pretty good at them.

KS: What is your favorite part about USD?

ASG: Basketball-the rivalry against SDSU. As an experience, however, D-Days was crazy fun.

KS: Who is your role model?

ASG: Oh, I have a lot of them. First of all, my dad. Then, Will Smith. He’s really smart, but people don’t really know that about him. Jimmy Graham is one too I love his story. He had a rough life, and now he’s one of the best tight ends in the NFL. He was supposed to be the one who couldn’t make it, but he still made it.

KS: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

ASG: Probably somewhere in the Carribbeans. There are so many islands. I want to go to Spain, too, but that’s too easy to do. The Cayman Islands or the Bahamas would be fun. That’s really close to where I’m from, too.

KS: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

ASG: One food? Rice and chicken. No question about it.

KS: What type of music do you listen to?

ASG: I listen to all kinds of music. I like rap, I like dance hall, reggae from Jamaica, hip-hop and we have something called “Zouk” in Guadeloupe, and that’s like slow songs that you dance to with your girlfriend.

KS: Are you superstitious?

ASG: Not too much. However, I always put my left shoe on first. If I realize that I put my right shoe on first, I take it off, and put the left shoe on first.