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CEDARVILLE — Their teammates love to imitate the accent. Who doesn't know the Jamaican accent? It's a national export — like reggae and the Rastafari movement — that doesn't show up on any economic reports.

"We're pretty used to it," Ricardo Alliman said. "We just laugh whenever they try to imitate it."

Alliman, Daniel Rose and Christopher Walker stick out on the basketball court at Cedarville University not just because of their distinctive accents, but because of their talents.

They are three of the top five scorers on the team, and all together, they pull in more than half of the team's rebounds.

Alliman, 20, and Walker, 26, hail from Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, and Rose, 24, grew up in the popular tourist area of Ocho Rios, on the northern coast.

It's a long way — in distance and in culture — from the Carribbean island of Jamaica to tiny Cedarville, Ohio. The Yellow Jackets, though, have featured at least one player from the country on their roster in 13 of the last 20 seasons.

The connection stems for Cedarville's first Jamaican player, Michael Minto. He played two seasons for the Yellow Jackets, beginning in 1988, and in the years since, he has helped run the Star Search basketball camp in Jamaica every summer.

Minto keeps an eye out for players who would fit in at Cedarville. Then he calls Cedarville head coach Ray Slagle.

"We've got one for you," Minto says.

Minto has been dead on every time, Slagle said, and it's not just talent he's looking for.

"One of the things that's unique about Cedarville obviously is that all of our kids have to have a relationship with Christ," Slagle said. "It's part of our mission statement. So not only does Mike have to pick out good players for us, he has to pick players who will fit with the mission of the university. He's gotten great players for us."

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.

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Jamaica to Cedarville

Since 1988, 10 Jamaicans have played basketball at Cedarville University. The most notable of those is Mugabe Thomas, who finished his career in 2006 as the school's fifth-leading all-time scorer. Three Jamaicans are on the team this season.

Michael Minto 1988-90

Bobby Polack 1993-96

Linton Ellis 1994-97

Dwayne Bryan 1996-97

Perry Mattis 1997-98

Mugabe Thomas 2002-06

Ricardo Alliman 2006-present

Daniel Rose 2005-present

Christopher Walker 2006-present