Fresh in Ames since Christmas, senior Amos Nagbe III migrated from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia to become a part of the high-class elite that is Ames High School. An aspiring athlete, he joined the basketball team in hopes of meeting great people and warding off a few unpleasant memories of his old basketball team. He has done both. “Only God can judge me,” said Nagbe to avert any firsthand impressions. Moving across the country in the middle of the final year of high school is not easy, so it is necessary to stay tough while broadening horizons. “I’m glad I joined the team, I’ve met some cool guys,” he said. “The first person to open up to me was The Burginator (senior Jordan Burgason). He’s cool.” At his previous school in Georgia, Nagbe’s life was consumed by basketball even more so than it is here with the Little Cyclones. “We would have 6 am practice followed by another one after school on a typical day,” he said. “On top of that, my old coach wouldn’t even let seniors play. Ames, on the other hand, is a better team and everyone gets along great. Plus, we got solid defense.” Nagbe does not plan to stay in Iowa for long, however. “Iowa’s more of a state you’d come to retire,” he said. “Ames is quiet and the kids are friendly, though. It’s small too; my old school had about 3,000 kids.” The move to Ames was a joint decision made between Nagbe and his dad. He has moved in with his older brother, and says the two get along great. Although his does not reside with either of his parents, Nagbe keeps family close to heart – literally. Inked into the skin of his left arm is a cross with a crown resting on top that writes “no king, no crown” – the spontaneous outcome of a previous visit to Ames. “When I was little my mom called me her Elvis; I’m like a king in my own world,” he said, “I still sing in the shower, too.” Wanting to preserve his memories of a deceased cousin, he is thinking about getting another tattoo. “It’d be two praying hands with a rosary in the middle, saying ‘save a little place for me,’” he said. After graduation, Nagbe is headed back south. A partial scholarship to study at the Johnson and Wales University in Florida is in store for this point guard. Also absorbed by track, baseball and soccer, Nagbe intends to carry sports with him through life. “I would like to coach someday, maybe,” he said. Anything in the future is fair game. “Basically, I want to make my name well known, you know, be famous. Some of my friends joke around and call me Famous Amos, like the cookie.” Before he takes on the world, Nagbe is first trying to gain fame at AHS. Of course there is much more to him that has not been mentioned, but those details remain a mystery until one meets him. “I’m probably the only black person you’ll meet that listens to country music,” he said. So what’s stopping everyone? Go talk to this Tim McGraw-loving new kid before he graduates and disappears from Ames for good.