Ian Ssali '24 Recruiting Profile

As an aspiring student-athlete from Uganda, there are several compelling reasons why I should be considered for a scholarship to join the school's sports program:

Diversity and Representation: As a player with a different background, I will bring unique resilience and stamina to the team. I come from a culture where nothing is taken for granted, we have to work hard for everything we earn. I will work hard as an individual and a team member to excel in sports and academics. As a member of your team will not be a burden, I will be an assert who will make your team great.

Desire  Athletic Potential: I have a talent for playing basketball, I have a desire to become a great basketball player. My goal is to one-day play in the NBA. I consider myself as a basic-foundation needing a good coach to shape me into a great professional Basketball player. I want my name to be scribed next to or above greatest basketball players ever played college basketball.

Resilience and Determination*: Growing up in Uganda shaped me into a tough but understanding person. I have four siblings. All are younger than I. When we were younger, I used to take care of them. It wasn't easy for a minor to take care of minors, but I knew by then that my parents were leaving me home to take care of my little siblings for a good cause. I had to step up and take care of them so that my parents worked longer shifts, and earn enough money to take us to good schools. To me, determination and resilience are driven by my self-conviction, understanding, and my love for the game

Long-Term Potential: I am not only a player, I am also an ambassador from Masaka, Uganda. Masaka District{Equivalent to a state} has a population of 10 million people. I will be the first and their only ambassador playing college basketball in a developed country. I am potentially looking forward to that time when I will share the outcomes of my talents with the young people back home in Masaka. As a basketball player, I want to be recruited by the NBA. At the same time, I want to pursue sports medicine, so that I can be an instrument in helping those athletes have one of theirs treat their injuries.

I am humble in nature, ready to listen to, learn from, and make that coach who recruits me a proud coach.

I am willing to work hard both in academics and in sports. I am unique in that I will be the first to be recruited from Masaka. If you recruit me as an ambassador from Masaka, I won't let you and people  down.