Baylor's Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
After winning the national championship in 2021, the Baylor men’s basketball squad is looking to add another banner to the rafters this year. One the key players who could help the Bears do that is forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua.
A soccer player by nature growing up in Cameroon, he didn’t start playing basketball until the age of 16, doing so with a soccer ball and a makeshift basketball goal. He was later invited to a Basketball Without Borders Camp in Angola and was awarded a scholarship to the NBA Global Academy.
He moved to Australia in his later teen years to pursue a basketball career, which he parlayed into a college scholarship in the United States. He began his college career at UNLV, but after a coaching change he found his way to play for Scott Drew at Baylor, where he helped deliver Baylor’s first national championship.
In 2022, Tchatchoua was named the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. But also in 2022, he suffered a serious leg injury in a game against Texas that has shaped much of who he is as a player and a person.
“It really taught me how life is really just a cumulation of ups and downs when we really focus on the earthly things,” he said on this week’s episode of the “Get in the Game” podcast. “I had to realize that my identity wasn’t tied to basketball.”
In this episode, Tchatchoua shares his story of moving around to different countries during his upbringing, how his faith in God was formed, and how it’s at the center of who he is as a man and a basketball player.
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Our guest today is Matt Hasselbeck, the former Pro Bowl quarterback who played 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.
Matt joins Scott Linebrink on the podcast to talk about the current landscape of the NFL playoffs, what it means to follow Jesus and serve others, and his thoughts on the Seattle Seahawks being one game away from the Super Bowl.
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Our guest today is Christopher Malleo, an entrepreneur, author and speaker who played college football at Northwestern University.
Chris went on to coach high school football at the Peddie School in New Jersey, where he built a nationally ranked program that sent 48 players on to play college football, 44 on full scholarships, with several reaching the NFL. During his time at Peddie, Chris pioneered one of the most remarkable leadership stories in sports by hiring a coach with cerebral palsy.
Today, Chris is the founder of High Impact Man (HIM), his flagship coaching program that equips men to live with integrity, discipline and purpose. He is currently enrolled in Harvard Business School’s Authentic Leadership Development program, continuing his mission of teaching leadership, culture and performance at the highest levels.
Today on the podcast, Chris Malleo joins Scott Linebrink to share about his journey of faith; the profound impact of his relationship with Frankie Keneavy, a coach with cerebral palsy; and the lessons learned about leadership, love and community.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Every morning before sunrise, Tobe Awaka’s day began long before most high school students were awake. Growing up in Hyde Park, New York, Awaka chose a high school nearly two-and-a-half hours away by train — Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx — because he knew it would best prepare him for his future plans.
That meant waking up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. to catch the train, go to class, attend basketball practice, then make the long trip home — only to do it all again the next day.
“It was tough. It definitely had its ups and downs, but it helped mold [me] into the person and player I am today,” he said recently on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up?” podcast.
That early discipline, both in academics and athletics, set the tone for his future basketball journey. He didn’t start playing “high-level” basketball until ninth grade, and even then, his approach looked different from many future stars. Instead of structured drills in a gym, he was in his driveway, pretending an invisible defender was in front of him.
“I’d just do a bunch of different combo moves… kind of imagine myself going past them,” he said on the podcast. “I think that kind of helped build my creativity and my love for the game.”
Fast forward to the 2025-26 college basketball season, and that inner creativity and work ethic has helped Awaka become one of the most impactful pieces on the No. 1-ranked and 14-0 Arizona Wildcats. The senior forward is posting a double-double season, averaging 10.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and shooting 59.8% from the floor — numbers that place him among the team’s and Big 12’s most consistent performers this year. And it’s all coming from a reserve role; despite starting 36 of 37 games last season, Awaka has come off the bench for every game this season.
His 18 points against Utah on Jan. 3 matched a career high, and he chipped in 12 rebounds to go with it. But his growth hasn’t only come through box scores.
After transferring from Tennessee following the 2023-24 season — a choice he described as one of the toughest decisions of his life — Awaka leaned deeply on his faith to find clarity. What began as prayer and thoughtful reflection turned into a sense of spiritual peace that guided his decision.
“Honestly, once I got the green light spiritually from God that I was making the right choice and moving in the right direction, it was tough going through on that but I think ultimately it’s been to my benefit and for my good,” he said on the podcast. “Sometimes, as a believer, the unknown can be a little scary. The whole fact of having faith becomes real and true and something you have to put into practice, and that was definitely a moment where I had to.”
Now at Arizona, faith has become something Awaka lives out in community. What started as a personal pursuit of spiritual growth has grown into a space for teammates — and others across campus — to do the same. In one of his early days in Tucson, he visited a local barbershop for a haircut. He noticed his barber had a sermon from pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell playing on a nearby TV, which sparked an organic conversation about faith.
Their friendship grew from there, and the two decided to meet regularly for a Bible study. Other players soon caught wind of what they were doing and asked if they could join. The group quickly grew to six members and has continued expanding as others from across campus have been invited. Some meetings now include 15 to 20 people, Awaka said.
“It’s been really cool just to see how God has moved,” he said on the podcast. “Honestly, it just kind of started with two guys trying to dive deeper into their faith and learn more about it. It’s kind of grown into something cool and special. We’re still trying to grow it, still trying to get more guys on the team interested and bring them along, but it’s been a great experience.”
That boldness in faith wasn’t always instinctive for Awaka. It came through searching, wrestling and earnest exploration of truth. Around his freshman year of college, he found himself digging into every major religion — Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and more — before landing where he felt alive with conviction.
“I went pretty deep and I landed on Christianity,” he said on the podcast. “I kind of read the Bible like a mad man. I read it front to back, then read through the New Testament again. I felt it deep in my soul that that was the truth and that’s where God wanted me to move. Even before that, it was just a lot of research, a lot of looking things up.”
Away from the court and classroom, Awaka is a big reader, using books to quiet his mind amidst the chaos of basketball and business school coursework. One book that left an impression was “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy, which he said reshaped his mental approach as an athlete. Ecclesiastes is also one of his favorite books in the Bible.
His faith went from something he followed because his parents did it to something he now claims as his. So when the decision to transfer schools came, he said it felt like “peace amongst chaos” when he got that “green light” from the Lord.
“There’s a lot of things swirling, a lot of people in your ear, but internally you have this gravity telling you that it’s going to be OK,” he said. He heard the Lord telling him to follow in His steps and He would lead him in the right direction.
“Adversity is inevitable. We see that all throughout the Scriptures,” he said on the podcast. “But at the same time, Christ isn’t going to take that away, necessarily, but He’s going to help us walk through that. I definitely believe and feel that’s what He was doing with me through that time.”
Awaka and Arizona next face Big 12-foe Kansas State at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.
