Shooting hoops at Senegal’s Seeds Academy

He worked as a recruiter for the Dallas Mavericks then was put in charge of promoting the game in Africa. Since 2010, he has been the head of development in Africa for the NBA and wanted to give young Senegalese the chance that he had.

In 2002, Amadou Gall Fall threw himself into the creation of the Seeds Academy, aiming to find young Senegalese from across the country to offer them the chance to be part of a structure that would take care of all their school and sports needs.

“In return, they had to be high achievers at school to stand a chance of going to a US college or university. That’s the deal,” said Fall’s brother, Cheikh Fall.

Seeds Academy has about 30 students from aged 14-15 to 18 and its programme is tough.

The students get up at 5:00 am and train until 7:00 am. Breakfast and lessons follow at the Saint Gabriel Roman Catholic centre — one of the most academic in Thies — with lights out late after more training and homework.

“We don’t have a minute’s respite,” confirmed Youssoupha Birama Fall, a 2.21 metres (7ft 2.5in) 17-year-old who is a recent African under-18 champion with Senegal.

“We have lessons and training until 11:00 pm. We don’t have time to play or think about anything other than studying and basketball.”

The academy does not receive local or national funding but is instead financed by Amadou Gallo Fall through US donations.

“We need $170,000 (nearly 135,000 euros) for a full year,” added Chiekh Fall. “We have five full-time staff, including coaches, and we pay for everything: private education, meals, accommodation, everything.”

In 10 years, the Seeds Academy has sent about 40 young basketball players to study in the United States.

Even though only one has managed to make the NBA — former New York Knicks centre Mouhamed Saer Sene — the others are currently students or graduates.

That is a payback for Assane Badji, the academy’s manager.

“It’s a great source of pride for me,” he beams. “We make them work hard here. They often come from very poor backgrounds and when we see what they become, we’re very happy.”

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