When Junior Lomomba decided three years ago to leave his home in St. Michel and move to Madison, Wisc., to pursue his hoop dreams, he was greeted with some pretty typical reactions from his new basketball teammates.

"At first, when you say you come from Canada, the first thing people think of is snow," Lomomba said. "But people in the States are starting to realize that we can play."

Lomomba, 17, is doing more than his fair share to further change that perception.

He left home after Grade 8 to live with his uncle Hennssy Auriantal, a standout guard for Dawson College in the mid-1990s who went to the University of Wisconsin on a full scholarship and later settled in Madison.

Lomomba played a year of club basketball in Wisconsin before starting at Madison Memorial High two years ago. He started on the varsity squad as a freshman and helped lead his team to the state championship. As a sophomore this past season, Lomomba once again made the state final with Memorial.

It was a far cry from playing club basketball in Montreal.

"We played on TV and the whole town came out to support us, it was a lot of fun," Lomomba said. "It was a bit of pressure, but that's something I always wanted. So when it happened, I just told myself it was time to play."