Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents a new series, Off the Bench, that takes fans inside their stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
We begin with Jeannot Basima ’27, a rising Yale men’s basketball senior from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, a political science major, and guard for the Bulldogs. As Basima completes his undergraduate studies and prepares for his final season taking the floor at John J. Lee Amphitheater, he is motivated by a personal passion — creating educational opportunities for the children of his home country.
Jeannot Basima began his basketball journey as a six-year-old at Promo Jeune Basket (PJB), a local academy near his home in Goma. Near his home country’s border with Rwanda, PJB isn’t just about basketball. It’s a pathway to education, emphasizing the values of discipline, team, hard work and respect. As Basima sees it, he has been the beneficiary of several brotherhoods — his six siblings, PJB, the high schools he attended and the Yale basketball program.
Through a random connection between PJB’s president, Dario Melo, and Daniel Arnaud, a Belgian basketball parent who had travelled through Goma, 13-year-old Basima and one of his teammates found themselves selected for a summer camp in the United States. The camp got them on to the Global Squad AAU team, which led to scholarships to New York Military Academy for eighth grade and the John Carroll School for high school.
Basima had no idea when he left home at age 13 that he would not see his family again for five years.
“The first three months were difficult,” Basima said. “I was homesick. I didn’t speak the language.”
With a laugh, Basima admits he was expecting to be Troy in “High School Musical” in the U.S., but he quickly realized that his new life would not be a Disney movie. The structure and standards of his military and then Catholic schools felt similar to the PJB values he knew. But the language barrier and separation from family weighed heavily.
Relief came through English as a Second Language (ESL) classes – and through basketball.
“On the court, everyone speaks the same language,” Basima explained.
Basketball recruiting put Yale on Basima’s radar, though he had little sense of the prestige his American peers coveted.
“The students, the coaches—everyone was welcoming,” Basima recalled. “When I talked with deans and understood the team history of winning, I knew this was where I wanted to be.”
Growing up in Goma, Basima looked up to Dikembe Mutombo — the NBA legend and fellow Democratic Republic of the Congo native who built hospitals for his community.
Returning home last summer after five years, Basima saw what he needed to do.
“I wanted to give back the way Dikembe did,” he said. “I wanted to show kids that someone from their community made it and came back.”
Basima wants them to have the advantage of afterschool English classes – which would have made his own education much smoother.
Basima has formed a nonprofit organization, the Jeannot Basima Basketball Camp and Foundation, with the support of the Dwight Hall Center for Public Service and Social Justice and his mentor, Josiah Brown ’92. Last year, they held a camp for 300 local children.
Grateful for his privileged position, Basima has not forgotten that many kids in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are on the opposite side of a daunting fence. In large families, there isn’t someone at home who can help with homework or teach English. Parents have to choose which kid can go to school.
“Through my foundation, I want to create an afterschool program at PJB that gives homework help and English language instruction,” Basima said. “I know that is what they need, especially if they’re going to study in English-speaking countries.”
Immigration uncertainty and an Ebola outbreak will prevent Basima from returning to his native land this summer. Instead, he is coordinating virtually — organizing classes, fundraising and strategizing. Through an internship with the Brooklyn Nets in June, he hopes to learn more about professional basketball operations and community partnerships.
Basima considers it a blessing to be an ambassador for his country. Yet, he reflects, “sometimes it feels heavy.”
When Basima worries, he turns to the values he carries from his parents and PJB: discipline, team, hard work and respect. He leans into a community of fellow African students, and of course, his Yale team. After graduation, he hopes to play professional basketball “for a while.”
But Basima’s real purpose is the kids who he knows are looking up to him.
“Basketball gave me this opportunity,” he said. “I want to make sure more kids from where I am from have the same chance — and that their journey is smoother than mine.”
