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.