Lamarr Kimble, a St. Joe’s redshirt junior guard, and Obi Toppin, a University of Dayton redshirt freshman forward, have etched faith and basketball into their everyday lives in a literal and permanent fashion.

Both Atlantic 10 Conference players, who have yet to meet one another, have almost identical tattoos on their left shoulders, symbolizing the connection between Christian values and basketball.

Both tattoos portray the image of hands in prayer with a basketball hovering just above the fingertips. Kimble and Toppin customised their tattoos, making the images more meaningful with intentional details.

Kimble utilized a personally significant Bible verse, Philippians 4:13, placing “Philippians” on a banner directly below the hands and “4:13” on the image’s left wrist. The verse states “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

“That’s something I always stand by,” Kimble said. “It always stood out to me from when I learned it in middle school.”

The hands pictured in Toppin’s tattoo are his own, something the tattoo artist made as a free drawing, not employing the use of a stencil. Toppin said the image symbolizes him praying every day that he’ll go far in his basketball career.

According to both Toppin and Kimble, there is a strong correlation between faith and basketball, especially having both grown up in environments where the two things played such important roles in their lives.

Toppin said the meaningful relationships that he has built with family members demonstrates the connection between faith and basketball. 

“Growing up, my family was very spiritual,” Toppin said. “The combination of my dad being a basketball player and my grandmother always being around praying for us showed me how the build off each other.”

Bill Rickle, S.J., an athletics and student life campus minister, agreed that there is a correlation between faith and basketball and said questions about having faith come up especially when players are injured.

“That puts a break on what they love to do,” Rickle said. “It puts them back off their feet. It’s a precious time to reflect because you literally have to sit still for a while.”

Kimble has dealt with several injuries throughout his collegiate career. Now on his third injury, the first two of which were season-ending, Kimble said the tattoo, along with what it symbolizes, has helped him to trust and believe in something.

“Whatever the type of person that you are, if you believe in something, don’t let anybody change it,” Kimble said. “I don’t want anybody to look at me and think another way. I will continue to be myself, show that and express that.”

While it may seem that tattooing such a symbolic image would yield added pressure to carry out his faith, Kimble disagreed, saying it’s a part of who he is. Toppin said God’s plan doesn’t add pressure to how he carries out his life.

“It’s not pressure, it’s opportunity,” Toppin said. “If something goes bad, there are always opportunities to learn from it.”

Kimble said his tattoo acts as a reminder of his faith every day. That’s why he wanted it to be permanently stamped on his arm.

“Just looking at it every day, I remember and see that I’m walking on Christ’s shoulders,” Kimble said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at without God giving me the talent and mental strength to get through high school and to get to college.”

Toppin agreed, saying it’s something to look up to.

“When I’m playing, I’ll look at the tattoo and tell myself that God put me in this position so I need to be grateful for it,” Toppin said.

Rickle said having physical reminders of the content and the importance of faith is extremely significant.

“The entire sacramental system revolves around that,” Rickle said. “We use physical things to express deeper realities.”

Kimble said that when he looks at pictures that people have captured of his tattoo, they resonate and have a deeper meaning to him.

“It reminds me that I’m representing something bigger than myself,” Kimble said.

Embracing the meaning behind the tattoo on and off the court helps to represent what it means to be a Hawk, according to Kimble.

  “I’m thankful for every time I’m able to get back on the court,” Kimble said. “In terms of me coming to St. Joe’s in a Jesuit program, representing the Hawks, bringing things together, with the person that I am and the values I bring.”