Mohamed-Ismaël Magassa '24 Recruiting Profile

Watching my brothers play basketball in front of me has changed my life. When I was five or six years old, I was a little kid who was trying to find something I love, but also trying to find myself. My big brothers were great basketball players. I would sit on the sideline with my mom watching them play, wondering how they were running back and forth and putting the ball in the basket with skill. One day I asked my dad to get me a basketball hoop with a ball as a birthday gift. But how did basketball change my life? How did it make me a better person?

After my dad bought me the hoop, I found my passion. Everyday, I woke up with a basketball in my hands and I would go straight to the garden and start playing basketball for a good hour by myself because as a kid that’s all I wanted to spend my free time doing. I reminisce a lot because my father has videos of me playing basketball when I was a kid and it shows me how much I grew as a person and as an athlete. Basketball became my lifestyle. As I was watching professional basketball on TV, I started thinking about becoming like the professional basketball players on TV not only as an athlete but as a person. I watch them give to the poor, help their community, build high schools, hospitals and more. I started thinking that those were the things that I wanted to do in the future. Since then, I have not stopped playing basketball because I want to use it to reach success.

The truth is, Mohamed and basketball are inseparable. On the court, I feel like myself, I forget about all the family or personal issues once I’m on the court. Everytime I feel stressed out, nervous or anxious, I get a basketball then I go to a park and play. Through basketball, I have met my closest friends who help me become a better person everyday. Basketball also taught me consistency and discipline. My work ethic became more consistent for academics and athletics. Playing basketball has taught me how to be a teachable or coachable person and it makes me want to learn something new everyday.

I count on myself and my family counts on me to be the face of the family, not just because of basketball but because of the person that I am and the student that I am. The child that everyone says is mature for his age, the child that everyone counts on for great academics and a great athletic future. In my life I only have one goal to achieve, and that is to make my family proud. I want to use my basketball talent as a source to make my family proud, because I feel relieved when I’m on the court, and it has helped me a lot as a student. The court is my safe place and my personality and work ethic will go along with that in order to reach success.