Kaheim Seawright is an emotional young man. Whether he’s on the hardwood or just living life, especially family life, those emotions are ever-present. As is often the case, what you see on the court is a reflection of what you would see off the court, if you could see that as well.
The Rhode Island senior loves the game a great deal and isn’t afraid to show it. He’s long been a player who’s always in motion and always making plays, though not necessarily getting much of the credit. Partly, he has been overshadowed at times, having played on a star-studded travel team in high school. He also doesn’t seek out the credit, as he simply loves the game and wants to win.
“I’ve got a lot of emotions tied up in it, I love the game so much,” the senior forward said. “I play with my emotions, I try to bring high energy and a lot of skill to the game. I just try to get on the court and do the things I’m good at.”
Seawright grew up on Long Island the second-youngest of four children. He played his high school basketball at Uniondale High School and, true to form, did a lot of winning. His team captured four consecutive Nassau County championships, and he scored over 1,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds. Not surprisingly, he had more rebounds than points, which reflects the way he’s played the game.
When it came to travel team basketball, Seawright played for the New York Panthers. The Panthers have long been a team loaded with big names, and Seawright’s teams were no different. Even so, he was always a mainstay with a certain role on the team. He did a lot of the dirty work and made life easier on the stars, because if you kept stats and then looked up at the end of the game, you saw he had a number of rebounds and sometimes got into double digits in scoring. You also felt like the stats didn’t do his game justice.
His recruitment saw plenty of suitors, as a major benefit of playing for the Panthers was being seen often since coaches would go to see the big names. Marquette was one school he considered, but he felt Rhode Island would be a good place to develop. It also had another key benefit: it was three hours away from home. That helped lead him to choose the Rams.
During his freshman year, he came off the bench and contributed in under 19 minutes per game. That showed just a glimpse of what he was capable of, as the next season saw a change. In looking back at how he broke out as a sophomore, Seawright is quick to note that they became the “Runnin’ Rams” that season, and he certainly benefited from that as well as playing more. He moved into the starting lineup and averaged 11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Last season, he ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding with 8.4 boards per game.
All the while, Seawright has been this team’s emotional leader. There’s never a doubt about his effort or desire to win. His emotions have more than just carried him to his play, as they’ve also helped carry the team.
“He is the backbone of this team,” said classmate Jimmy Baron. “He’s been a blessing for me to spend four years of college with him.”
Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron loves that Seawright competes, and saw that he wanted to be a great player. He also understands the game better than one might think given what he’s done. In fact, over his college career, he has refined his game quite nicely, while still understanding what he is. Though he has expanded his game, he hasn’t fallen into the trap that some post players do of hoisting up three-pointers after seeing he can hit a mid-range shot or two.
“I don’t think he gets the pub he deserves around the league for what he’s done,” said Baron, who noted that his value can really be seen in his rebounding and field goal percentage numbers.
Last season had a tough ending for Seawright and the Rams, as the season started with a lot of promise as the result of a 14-1 start and a national ranking but ended with a three-game losing streak, the last two of which were by a combined three points. But not long after the season, basketball paled in comparison as his mother passed away unexpectedly. Seawright was very close to his mother, so he naturally took it hard and says he’s still in a little denial that it happened.
“She raised a man,” Seawright reflects. “You hear the saying that it takes a man to raise a man – I don’t think that’s true. She raised me, I’m just picking up where she left off and trying to keep the family together.”
In a great move, the entire team went to his mother’s funeral. Baron cares about the well-being of his student-athletes, and this was one great example of it. This was not a window-dressing move, either; the support hasn’t ended.
“It showed me just how caring and loving this team is,” Seawright said. “We say ‘family’ but it’s a real family. They gave me support during a hard time, and they still give me support. You can’t measure that.”
The four years have come and gone quickly. Seawright is happy to have been in the campus setting and close to home, as he went home often when his schedule allowed. His senior season has seen him post a career high in scoring (13.9 points per game) and lead the team in rebounding and blocked shots. Evidence of his versatility, as well as how much he’s continued to develop, comes from an interesting career stat: he and Antonio Reynolds-Dean are the only Rams ever to score over 1,000 points, grab more than 800 rebounds, hand out 200 assists and block at least 100 shots.
“I’ve definitely improved from year to year, and I think from my freshman year to now, it shows what hard work can get you,” Seawright reflected. “And I’m not done.”
Even when he is done playing, you have to know his competitiveness isn’t going to just go away in a snap. He loves the game too much, so it’s not a surprise that the sociology major wants to be a coach when he’s done playing. Not only will he still have the competitive drive, but he sees it as a way to give back to the community. Along the way, he’s worked camps close to home over the years. During his time at Rhode Island, he’s talked with assistant coach Kevin Clark, who was once the interim head coach at St. John’s, about what coaching would entail.
On Saturday, Seawright walked off the Ryan Center floor as a member of the Rams for the last time. As was the case in his prior games in that building in front of the home fans – in this case a sellout crowd after students camped outside for tickets – he left it all on the floor with 16 more rebounds. There was again no doubt about his effort.
You can bet that if Seawright gets into coaching once his playing days are over, his emotions will still carry him to what he’s able to accomplish. He knows no other way, and that’s already carried him a long way to this point.
