Sacrifice, Humility Propel Pair of Cowboys Through Ramadan

LARAMIE -- Sundance Wicks often preaches the gospel of sacrifice.

He wants his young, inexperienced basketball team to stay in the moment and forgo personal prosperity for group success. Those lessons aren't just reserved for the court, either.

"You can do way more than you're capable of," Wyoming's head coach said. "We limit ourselves, in scope."

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Now, the 45-year-old can relay that message with just a simple point of the finger.

That's aimed in the direction of Adam Harakow, a junior whose playing journey began in western Canada and migrated to little-known Lake Superior State before he ended up on the high plains of Laramie.

From dawn to dusk over the previous 21 days, the Alberta product has abstained from eating or drinking as he observes Ramadan, the most sacred and holy month on the Muslim calendar.

He's been committed to fasting over the previous three years.

It's reserved as a time for additional prayer, reflection and charitable deeds, signifying the 30-day window when the Qur'an was sent down from Heaven and revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

It's simply serves a reminder for Harakow, who is the son of a Somalian father and a mother who migrated from southern Russia, that there are many tougher situations in the world than making it through a grueling practice or getting an earful from your head coach.

Daylight savings and competing in different time zones are just a minor inconveniences.

"It's an understanding that you have a great situation," he said. "Sometimes I feel like we don't live in the present moment and we try to blame certain situations. And I feel like, understanding, a lot of people when they wake up, they don't have food or water and they don't have a home that they can go to, consistently.

"It's about being grateful and understanding."

It hasn't been lost on Wicks what his guard has been going through.

"It becomes easier to be a servant leader and sacrificial leader because you've done it through your faith at a younger age," he added. "I just think those are important things to have in life, to learn how to how to give more than you take. You learn how to be someone who sacrifices for something bigger than yourself. Those traits will never leave you and they'll never leave Adam. That's why he's a fantastic human being."

Harakow isn't the only Wyoming student-athlete navigating the seas of sacrifice this time of year, either.

"Earn your weekend."

That's a common offseason saying around the football program. Winter conditioning is punctuated each week with a taxing Friday regimen that includes hours of wind sprints and weight training.

Markell Holman, without the aid of even a sip of water, has masterfully cruised through these workouts with relative -- and impressive -- ease, according to head coach Jay Sawvel. A couple of hours after a high volume of running and dumbbell floor pushes, the 6-foot, 205-pound running back was speed squatting 460 pounds.

There was a initial worry that Holman could lose not only weight but strength throughout this month.

That's been put to bed.

"He's maintaining everything," Sawvel continued. "He's always got a good attitude to him about it and he's doing fine. It's a challenge, you know? I mean, I think about everybody, regardless of what level of activity they do, when they get done working out for 20 minutes, the first thing they do is drink something or eat something, right? Like, that's everybody in society.

"This is not an easy thing."

Holman rushed for a team-high 1,063 yards and found the end zone nine times last fall during his final season at Western Illinois. The Philadelphia native was the Ohio Valley Conference rushing champion and earned All-OVC-Big South honors.

He wasn't always a follower of the Muslim faith, growing up in a Christian household. Roughly a year ago he took part in his Shahada, which is a formal declaration that Allah is the one true God and Muhammad is his messenger.

It's the most sacred statement in Islam.

"As I got older, I just started questioning religion, just in general," said Holman, adding that his family was supportive of his conversion. "Through trials and tribulations in life, and when I started actually doing my own research, Islam resonated with me."

What has his daily life consisted of since Feb. 17?

The alarm goes off just before 4 a.m., Holman said, and that's when his first big meal of the day is consumed. That typically consists of oatmeal and other heavy carbohydrates. Then comes half-a-gallon of water. Admittedly, he has to "dig deep," especially on Fridays. Watching his teammates eat snacks during film sessions might be the toughest hurdle of them all.

His earthly reward though comes when the sun goes down.

"I do heavy pastas and eat a lot of proteins, like chicken and stuff like that," he said. "I drink some Gatorades and things like the heavy protein shakes, just to try to preserve as much energy I can have."

Harakow, whose go-to is toast, hard-boiled eggs and smoothies, isn't only in the throngs of a long season, it's crunch time, the eve of the annual Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas. Wednesday's opening-round meeting with UNLV will be the seventh game the Cowboys have played since Ramadan began. In that timeframe, the Edmonton native has averaged 5.5 points a night, including a 14-point performance in a home win over Air Force.

In his last outing, Harakow sank all three of his attempts from deep, finishing with nine points in an 88-78 victory at San Jose State.

His most impressive stats during this stretch might be 15.5 and 3.2. That's his average number of minutes and rebounds per game, respectively.

"What he does and what he's doing from a psychological and physiological aspect is remarkable," Wicks said. "And that's anybody who observes that. That's any person, any player, like, I don't care if you're playing sports or not playing sports.

"... Basketball, in a lot of ways, takes a backseat to this. I think it helps him tell a beautiful story of his faith, because we get to watch him go through this and still have success on the court, still impact winning and still be a competitor."

The energy dips, though a reminder of his sacrifice, are consistent. He also observes the five daily prayers, including the extra communal one reserved for this month, which typically takes place in a mosque.

Harakow admitted Wicks has been giving him additional "leeway" this month, which is appreciated.

There are only four Islamic Centers in the entire state of Wyoming, according to Mosques USA, one of which is in Laramie.

While the spotlight isn't yet on Holman and the Cowboy football program, behind the scenes he is not only preparing his mind and body for his first FBS season, the senior is also giving back his time and effort to his new community.

"Humility," he said when asked what Ramadan truly means to him. "Everybody doesn't really have the necessities that you think that every person would have, so during this month, I try my best to just volunteer my time."

He also gets in those extra prayers late at night.

"I'm just trying to get close to the man above," he said with a smile.