Check Out "Shark's" Journey to South Carolina Basketball

Watch out for the “Shark” at Colonial Life Arena this year. South Carolina men’s basketball senior transfer Mike “Shark” Sharavjamts has been well-traveled throughout his life, and as the son of former Harlem Globetrotter, Sharavjamts Tserenjankhar, also known as “The Mongolian Shark”, the 6’9” guard is hoping to make a name for himself this year in the SEC.

“My dream is to make it to the league (NBA),” Sharavjamts said. “I just love to play. I grew up around basketball. My dad played basketball his whole life. He played overseas, too. So, basketball was just always there. I remember watching him play.”

While he was too young to remember seeing his father play in the red, white, and blue Globetrotter uniforms, he did learn some tricks from him.

“He taught me how to spin the ball around the hands,” Sharavjamts said.

Sharavjamts has had quite the journey to end up in Columbia for his final year of eligibility. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, his family moved back to their native Mongolia when he was two. He represented Mongolia on the U18 National Team at the 2019 3×3 World Championships. He came back to the U.S. for most of his high school career, playing in Ohio and California.

“My brother is two years older than me, so I was his team’s point guard at the time,” Sharavjamts said. “I grew up playing against guys that were like four years older than me.”

Sharavjamts’ collegiate career first took him to Dayton, where he was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team. He played his sophomore season at San Francisco where he improved his shooting numbers and then went on to play his junior year at Utah where he averaged 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season. While he enjoyed success at his previous stops, he felt right at home when he came to South Carolina.

“I like the playing style and the coaches here,” Sharavjamts said. “I have a lot of belief in the coaches and the players.” Then pointing at teammate Meechie Johnson, “Meechie is my guy, right there! All these other dudes, too!

“I like to play team basketball. I like to pass, but I’m a tall guard, so defensively I like to use that as a strength. I just need to keep doing the simple things every day, like catch and shoots or one dribble pull-ups, and try to get better.”

His father has the distinction of being the first Asian Harlem Globetrotter, and Sharavjamts is making his own way as the first Mongolian citizen to earn a Division I scholarship.

“We have a lot of history in our culture,” Sharavjamts said. “I guess people know Genghis Khan and things like that. I’m studying communications management. I want to own a basketball team someday, or a basketball school, and do something for my people in Mongolia.”