Samson Johnson, Hassan Diarra, and Adama Sanogo all follow Ramadan and have started a strict fast from sunrise to sunset every day beginning on March 22 and lasting through April 20.

On Saturday at 7:49 p.m. CDT in Houston, the University of Connecticut will play Miami in the NCAA men’s basketball championship Final Four. That will allow three of the team members to consume and drink for the first time since the sun rose that day just nine minutes after sunset.

Adama, to use basketball slang, ate all night as the Huskies thrashed the Razorbacks and advanced to the Elite Eight. Adama made 9 of 11 shots and tallied 18 points. Nevertheless, he performed while fasting in observance of Ramadan, a Muslim holy month, and without even a sip of water. In addition, he continued to contribute on the defensive end by snatching up eight boards 안전놀이터 and stopping two shots. On an empty stomach and without drinking a drop of water, he continued this for 24 minutes.

“I’m definitely hungry,” he said moments later. “I’m hungry.” He gave his phone a glance. It was local time at 6:54 p.m. “I’ve got six more minutes and I can eat.”

“I do this for a long time. I’m used to it now. I’ve been doing it since I was in high school. It’s definitely important. I believe in my faith. As a Muslim, if you’re healthy, you have to do it. I’m healthy, I’m feeling good, so why not?  My mom, too. She calls me every day to check on me. She is fasting, so I can fast.”

Sanogo, Diarra, and Johnson can eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, veggies, and water at 7:01 pm (10:01 EST). To ensure that food enters the players’ bodies as quickly as feasible, the staff prepared foods that are readily digestible.

The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which varies annually based on the lunar cycle, is Ramadan, which is a holy month in Islam. Muslims celebrate Ramadan as a month of prayer, introspection, fellowship, and fasting. Suhoor, the traditional pre-dawn supper, is followed by fajr, the first of the five daily prayers, for Muslims.

Although the athletes don’t worry about fasting during the competition, UConn coach Dan Hurley does.

As a coach, he admitted, “For me as a coach, navigating it was more like panic. And I don’t know much about diet and nutrition and human performance. But we’ve got a great strength coach and athletic trainer that have been able to get up with Sanogo early and get some food in him. And then obviously the late tip time helps us more.

For instance, the three players couldn’t eat until halftime of their game against Gonzaga last Saturday in Las Vegas because it began so early. They had less than ten minutes to get some sports drinks and bananas before heading back to the arena. The three athletes agreed that they get up around five in the morning to consume before their daily fast starts. None of them consume breakfast; instead, all three choose breakfast meals that include steak.

The three players’ associate chief athletic trainer, James Doran, is in charge of making sure they have everything they need to play basketball while fasting. He said that preparation is important.

“I’ll drink my coconut water and eat some fruit,” said Sanogo, the team’s leading scorer. “That’s all I need to get ready for the game and I’ll be fine.”

“All we did was we basically quizzed them all and asked them, ‘What do you want coming out of your fast?’ and they all have been doing it so long that they know exactly what they want right out of the fast,” Doran said.

“It’s not an easy task … but just have faith and believe in God and everything that you do just gets easier,” Johnson said. “With time I got used to it and it’s a lot easier for me now.”

The three players’ associate chief athletic trainer, James Doran, is in charge of making sure they have everything they need to play basketball while fasting. He said that preparation is important.

Diarra claimed that when a game or practice is scheduled 바카라 during the hours of fasting, it’s not the absence of food that affects him the most but rather the inability to take a sip of water.

“It can be very, very, very hard at times,” he said. “The hardest part is not being able to drink or hydrate yourself throughout the game, throughout the practices. It can be challenging at times, but we find a way to push through it and get it done.”