"She saved my life," Mutombo said. "We got the malaria results 40 minutes later. We waited two hours for the malaria medicine from the CDC (in Atlanta). I wish I knew her name to thank her."

Mutombo came to the U.S. in 1987 on an academic scholarship to attend Georgetown. As a premed major, he expected to return to the Congo as a doctor.

In his second year, Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson invited the 7-foot-2 Mutombo to try out for the team. He grew up loving soccer, but eventually came around to basketball under Thompson's guidance.

"He took me by his wing," Mutombo said. "He made me who I became today, he's like a father figure to me. I don't call him 'Coach,' I call him 'Pop.' He gave me all the tools to succeed ¡ª maturity and education."

Georgetown was ranked No. 1 and reached the final eight twice in his three years of play. He was Big East defensive player of the year, averaging 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.71 blocks his senior year.

College basketball altered his plans to become a doctor, and he graduated instead with degrees in linguistics and diplomacy. He speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and five African dialects.

Mutombo has averaged 10.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in his 15-year career.

Now he's satisfied to assist on the medical front. His goal is to get 100,000 people to contribute $10 a month on his Web site to support the hospital and research.

"I'm still a doctor, serving the people," Mutombo said.