The Legend 6/21/2000-12/31/2019
Samaad was born on 6/21/2000 in Elizabeth, NJ. The labor and delivery was 24 hours. One of the main reasons for this was because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. We didn’t know that until he was making his way into the world. His father Malachi said that Samaad was blue and unresponsive. The nurses revived him and he belted out his first cry. The nurses called him Sam while he was in the hospital which is how he was affectionately called by his best friend Tyree.
Before school started for Samaad he was destined for greatness! His grandmother Sharon who watched him before he was old enough to attend school began teaching him everything she knew. We give her all of the credit for making him one of the smartest kids in the class! He never carried a book bag, completed his schoolwork during school hours and got As & Bs up until high school. He barely studied. Somehow he trained his brain to retain the information he learned in school.
Samaad’s grandmother Sandy introduced him to sports at the age of 5. Coach Rob, who was one of her colleagues told her about the Union Rams Football League where he was coaching. Samaad played for the Giants. Go figure since his grandfather was a huge Giants fan! Samaad was a running back and on his first handoff he ran it in for a touchdown. The funny thing is that he ran all the way to the goal post and didn’t realize that the field was shortened for pee-wee football. That was the beginning of Samaad’s sports career in football, basketball and baseball. He excelled in all sports becoming an a outstanding outfielder and pitcher in baseball, a point guard and shooting guard in basketball and running back who couldn’t be tackled in football. He had speed, agility that was unmatched! Samaad was born with God given talent on and off the court.
In 2010, we moved to Hillside NJ from Union NJ. Samaad attended elementary and middle school finishing up at WOK Middle School in 2014. By then, Samaad decided to concentrate on basketball. He played on several AAU teams, including Newark Project Pride with Coach Laron, the Boys & Girls Club in Union, and WOK’s middle school team. He dominated the basketball court with his shooting skills, speed and agility. He was an all around player getting lots of rebounds too. In the eighth grade Samaad was sought after by top private and prep schools, but his grades dropped that year and stopped him from perusing basketball at top level high schools for basketball.
In 2014, we moved to Somerset NJ after his brother Jamal graduated from Hillside High School. It was a pivotal move in Samaad’s life because it was a new town, new friends, new environment. He did not tryout for the Franklin High School basketball team during freshman year, he didn’t make the team sophomore year, but played junior year and didn’t play senior year. Being that Samaad had such an outstanding career back in North Jersey it was surprising to him and his family that the move to a better school system and township would be the ultimate demise to his sports career and life. He graduated from Franklin High School in June of 2018. He attended Kean University at the time of his death.
In 2016 Samaad’s grandfather James passed away. It was one of the most devastating events in his life besides what happened with his basketball career. From that moment on, Samaad battled depression, heartache and pain. He was quiet about what he was going through until he sent a letter to his mentor, and coach Coach Audrey Taylor. He requested her time to get back in the gym to help him build his life back and heal from the drug use and hurt and pain he was experiencing. Realizing the problem was half the battle. In November 2019, he missed that appointment by oversleeping. 30 days later Samaad was shot and killed on Churchill Ave in Somerset, NJ by 5 people who knew and went to school with him. What we didn’t know about Samaad was that “His Life Mattered” to so many of the youth and adults he came into contact with in the 19 years of his life. He was loved by many! We continue to honor Samaad’s Life and Legacy through OFOF!