Meet the Mama Badgers
By Justine Jones
Charlotte Muhorakeye, Suzette Carr, and Paula Johnson may not officially be on the Hamilton Honey Badgers coaching staff, but the organization has them to thank for producing such talented basketball players.
These are the mothers of Honey Badgers Jean Victor (JV) Mukama, Duane Notice, and Kalif Young, and each mom has played an integral role in shaping the young men into who they are today.
Mukama’s father was always in his life but as the eldest of two boys raised predominately by his mother, JV had several responsibilities as the man of the house.
“When you're a kid you don't get it,” said Mukama. “My mom is just being annoying with me, she always wants me to do this, she never talks to my little brother, and I have the biggest consequences. In my eyes as a 13-year-old, I saw it as unfair, but my mom was just giving me intangibles I could use later on.”
“We always joke because she played basketball in high school, like at recess but she always tells people I got all my skill from her,” said the First team All-CEBL guard. “Technically I did because if I didn't learn all those lessons from my mom, I don't think I'm the player I am today.”
Mukama played his university career at Ryerson, and has since competed for the Honey Badgers, the Raptors 905, and overseas with Aris Leeuwarden of the Dutch Basketball League. Each organization has described the 6-foot-8 guard as a team-first, coachable player.
This is because growing up, Mukama was responsible for another teammate, his younger brother. JV’s mom, Charlotte, taught him the importance of responsibility and accountability, and these life lessons have ultimately shaped the way he views the sport.
“I don't think about basketball as just like dribbling a basketball and trying to score,” said the former OUA First Team All-Star. “Obviously I'm very competitive, but at the same time I pride myself in the experience of basketball, so the comradery with your teammates. I think my mom has instilled that in me and it made me look at the bigger picture of basketball.”
Charlotte’s influence extends far beyond her sons, and as a councillor for the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, she has positively impacted the lives of many kids around the city. Mukama recounts coming out of school with sometimes as many as six of his friends and she would give each of them a ride home.
“Every kid around Hamilton around my age that played with me or against me that’s ever been in that car, they still see her around everywhere in Hamilton and call her ‘Auntie’,” said Mukama. “In general people know my mom is very, very sweet.”
Perhaps the proudest moment for Charlotte was when JV returned to Rwanda, where he grew up, to represent the Kigali Patriots Basketball Club in the Rwandan Division I League in 2019. Although his mother was unable to attend, she received several videos from family and friends who remembered her son as a young boy.
The Patriots went on to win the League Finals and Mukama was named the MVP. Playing in front of a packed arena of 12,000 screaming fans was a full circle moment for JV. He hopes to have the opportunity to play in Rwanda again, so he can share this homecoming experience with his mom.
“She is the only person that will trash talk me in front of my face, but brag about me behind my back,” said Mukama. “I don’t see that tough love from her anymore because it’s almost like she knows, ‘Okay, I don’t need to do this anymore. He’s the man I want him to be.’ So right now, it’s just more enjoying whatever journey I’m on.”
Now that Mukama is an uncle, he realizes how difficult it must have been for his mom to discipline her two boys. The Child and Youth Care graduate describes himself as the “cool uncle” and has the utmost respect for how his mom raised him.
And speaking of cool, veteran Honey Badgers guard Duane Notice has both a mom and a best friend in his mother Suzette.
“The relationship that I have with my mom is the best because we're so close,” said Notice. “It's kind of like an interesting dynamic whenever we're in public, people are like, ‘That’s your mom?’ Because one, she is young, but two, because of our dialogue, we crack jokes and everything, but we also have that respect in place, she's just my biggest fan.”
The Woodbridge, Ont., native left home at 18 years old and has spent the majority of his basketball career on the road. Notice played at the University of South Carolina for four years, helping the team to the school’s first ever NCAA Final Four appearance in 2017. He has also represented Team Canada on the international stage.
Despite this distance, the two have remained close and have always had a dynamic where they could tell each other anything. Suzette is incredibly proud of how Duane has grown over the years.
“Probably the proudest I’ve seen my mom was when I graduated university,” said the former Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year. “In high school I was kind of rebellious when it came to my schoolwork but being in university and actually applying myself and getting honour roll every year, Dean’s list every year, I think I just made her extremely proud.
“She told me at the graduation, she was almost in tears.”
Now that Notice is back home in Ontario, the two have been able to further deepen their relationship. They cherish the quality time spent playing their favourite card game President, having wine and movie nights, and getting creative on TikTok (make sure you check out their version of Drake’s Toosie Slide).
Many people claim their mom is the best, but Duane says Suzette’s dependability is unmatched. Notice describes her as the type of mom to answer his phone calls at 3 a.m., and he is grateful for her support that has allowed him and his brother, NCAA guard Marcus Carr, to play the sport they love at an elite level.
“Playing basketball from a young age and having AAU tournaments every weekend, having to be out of the country, I just know she sacrificed so much just to be able to pay for those trips or drive us to Florida,” said the Honey Badgers veteran. “That just inspires me so much and I feel like that’s how we’ve been able to do what we do and eventually we can repay her.”
Suzette has instilled a resiliency in Notice that has been instrumental throughout his basketball career. Recently, the 6-foot-2 guard has channeled this mental fortitude while recovering from a left Achilles tendon injury sustained in the 2020 CEBL Summer Series. 
Duane’s Honey Badgers teammate Kalif Young says he feels the support of his own mom no matter where he is in the world. The Vaughan, Ont., native spent four years at Providence College in Rhode Island and played overseas in Turkey this winter with Bornova Belediye.
Three years ago Young’s mom, Paula, sent him the song “Dear God” by Smokie Norful and now he listens to it before every game.
“It’s a song that just gives me a level of appreciation for everything I have in my life and it allows me to kind of understand it's just a game, like don't overly attack yourself for making mistakes,” said the former Friar. “It's been a huge encouragement for me and always allows me to get that piece of my family and where I come from no matter where I am.”
Paula is proud of how her son has handled the challenges posed during his first year of professional basketball. From being on his own for nine months due to COVID-19, to dealing with the aftermath of the 6.6-magnitude Aegean Sea earthquake in October, this year has been full of hardship.
Through it all, Young has persevered and is averaging nearly a double-double in the highly regarded Turkish Basketball League (TBL). The former Interperformances TBL Player of the Week says that his strong family ties are a constant in his life that have helped him stay connected to home while being alone in Turkey for the majority of the year.
“I’ve always been close to my mom, she’s someone that I talk to a lot,” said Young. “No matter what part of my life I’m in I always go to her for advice and just support and that’s something I’ll continue to do.”
Many mothers can relate to Paula’s nerves in experiencing the tensions of sport. She prefers to get an extensive recap from her husband in lieu of viewing the live broadcast. However, she always watches the games afterwards to show her love for her son.
The 6-foot-9 forward is returning for his second season with the Honey Badgers and cherishes the opportunity to play at home in Canada. While it remains uncertain if there will be fans in attendance, Kalif knows that if his parents are able to go to the games, he can always count on his mom to give him her signature head nod from the stands.
“She’s not the scream at you from the crowd mom, she’s chill when she’s there but she’s always watching and supporting,” said Young. “Even when I look over during the game she’s always giving that level of support, the head nod and the love, so I’m always very thankful for that.”
Young and the Honey Badgers are set to kick off their 2021 season on the road June 26 against the reigning CEBL champions, the Edmonton Stingers. Until then, you can follow @honeybadgers.cebl on Instagram and @HM_HoneyBadgers on Twitter to get all the updates.