It took 15 years, but Danny Almonte has finally been one-upped. A man posing as a 17-year-old high school basketball player in Windsor, Canada, was arrested Wednesday, because border officials believe he is actually 30, reports the Windsor Star.
Nicola is 6-9 and 202 pounds. He wears a size 16 shoe. This winter, he starred as the center of Catholic Central High School in Windsor. He was listed as an 11th grader.
In January, Jonathon Nicola told the Star he arrived in Windsor on Nov. 22, 2015, after living in South Sudan. Nicola claimed it took him six months to attain a Canadian student visa.
"A few of my friends know of my background, how we live over there," he said then. "I don't know how many of them have a clue of how it is in Africa.
"With the war going on, terrorism and all this, they make it real double hard."
Nicola also lived with Catholic Central head coach Pete Cusumano as part of Canada Homestay, a program that provides homes to foreign students. In January, Cusumano told the Star Nicola had NBA potential. A local basketball resource called Windsor Hoops posted a prospect video of Nicola going through drills.
Cusumano told the Star on Wednesday he cannot talk about the situation.
Nicola had a detention review Tuesday before the Immigration and Refugee Board, which chose to keep him in custody. On Wednesday, Canada border officers arrested Nicola for "allegedly contravening the Immigration Refugee Protection Act." Nicola is technically on a student visa. He will have another hearing next week.
There is a lot to take in with this story. But before jumping to conclusions about Jonathon Nicola, it is important to take into account his alleged situation. If he did escape poverty in South Sudan for a better life in Canada, that cannot be ignored. Could he have felt this was his only ticket out of terror? What would you do in his situation?
Check out the Star's story for more details.
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
