Sometimes, the smallest of words can open the widest of doors. Sometimes, you are blessed to discover that the simple act of sharing with others those things which we all take for granted can provide priceless joy.

If you’re wondering what this has to do with golf, the answer is: It has everything to do with a golfer, Brad Faxon, and the wonderful story that has entered the lives of he and his wife, Dory.

Fax being Fax, it does involve a little golf instruction, but Marouf Moumine cringes. “Oh, my God, it is hard,” he said. Instead, the 6-foot-6-inch Marouf will stick to the elite basketball skills that have brought him from Cameroon to West Palm Beach, Fla., and to the dreams that motivate him.

Yes, the dreams involve his schoolwork and basketball at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, hopefully playing collegiately, and if all goes well, following countrymen Luc Mbah a Moute, Joel Embiid, and Pascal Siakam into the NBA.

But just so you don’t think this is all about shooting hoops, it isn’t. The biggest part of Marouf’s dream is distinctively personal. “I want to bring my siblings to the United States,” said Marouf, who has two brothers and a sister back in Cameroon.

When Marouf used his cell phone to facetime his siblings and showed them pictures of the bedroom where he was sleeping “they could not believe it,” he said, “and they want to come.”

Hearing Marouf share that story is a testament to his commitment “because a year ago he couldn’t speak English,” said Faxon. The young man already spoke five languages – French, Arabic, Pidgin English, and two Afro-Asiatic dialects, so it’s impressive how quickly he’s picked up English, No. 6.

“He’s such a great kid,” said Faxon. “Everyone loves Marouf.”

Brad and Dory met the young man a few years ago through one of Faxon’s college friends at Furman, a woman named Kim Bohuny, who is Senior Vice-President for the NBA’s International Basketball operations. Through something called NBA Academy talented young players are given opportunities to further themselves in basketball and in life and sometimes the road takes students through high schools in America.

One of the Academies is in Saly, Senegal, which is where Marouf has trained as a member of Team Africa.

The Faxons’ good friends, Bill and Darlene Golson, whose son, Jeremy, played at Cardinal Newman (and is now at Valdosta State) met Marouf and said they would “host” the young man.

“They deserve all the credit,” said Faxon. “They’ve been incredible with Marouf. It’s all them.”

But between getting Marouf to school, his diligent fitness workouts, and weekend basketball with his Elite Youth Basketball League team, the Nightrydas, hosting is a big job so this year Brad and Dory were asked if they’d be willing to “co-host.”

They looked at one another and said, “yes,” at the same time.

It was a no-brainer, said Faxon. “I mean, to be able to help someone do something that will change his life, it’s the greatest thing. Fact is, in a way, Marouf has changed our lives, and he will change his sibling’ lives. That is so cool.”

To say “yes,” of course, is to do some serious reflecting on the differences you share with the guest in your home. “Ask him about growing up, what his mornings were like,” Faxon said.

Marouf told of a world without cell phones and electricity, no running water and if you wanted to take a shower, “you went down to the river.”

The nearest store to Marouf’s village was “four hours away” and you started your day milking cows for food. When he left his village, it was a two-day travel to the nearest airport.

And to think, we consider having only two bars for phone reception to be a major inconvenience.

Now Faxon played at the highest level of pro golf for parts of three decades and witnessed the influx of international athletes onto the PGA Tour. And he’s a passionate fan of all sports and knows that athletes from all corners of the planet are cemented onto the American sports landscape.

But to watch the development of Marouf Moumine is an experience Faxon cherishes.

The 17-year-old has met a pair of former NFL players, kicker John Carney and tight end Jordan Cameron, both of whom have preached about fitness. A personal trainer is at work with the young man from Cameroon, trying to put on 25 pounds of muscle. Faxon has asked former NBA 3-point czar Ray Allen (“We talk all the time about the similarities with putting and free-throw shooting,” said Faxon) about meeting with Marouf.

At a recent EYBL tournament in Orlando, Faxon exchanged pleasantries with John Calipari, then he saw University of North Carolina coach Hubert Davis and stopped to say hi. Seeing that conversation from the floor during warmups, Marouf took the occasion to sweep by and do an emphatic slam dunk, after which he turned and smiled.

“He’s such a fun kid,” said Faxon, who professes not to be a basketball insider, but someone with a keen eye to recognize passion, athleticism, hand-eye coordination.

“He’s fast, very fast, and he’s very coachable. What he wants more than anything, is to help Cardinal Newman be a better team.”

Marouf’s first journey into the international basketball landscape was as a member of Team Africa in the Junior NBA Global Championships. He tore his ACL. “They were treating his injury and it was in Pittsburgh and guess who was also being treated in that room? Sidney Crosby,” said Faxon.

“There’s Marouf, who has no idea who Sidney Crosby is, but Crosby turns and says, ‘I’ve seen you before. I saw you in hoops against Team Canada.’ ”

Ah, the beauty of our sports world.