Abdoulaye Kante: Senior Abdoulaye Kante came to the U.S. to pursue basketball

While living in Mali, Africa, then-middle schooler Abdoulaye Kanté made a bet with his dad: if Abdoulaye could pass the test that would allow him to go an African high school, — including a math, English, chemistry, physics, history and essay section — his dad would allow him to move to the U.S. for school. All Abdoulaye would have to do is earn an athletic scholarship to fund his education.

So he picked up his first basketball.

Abdoulaye began playing pick-up games with 18 to 20-year-old men at an outside court in hopes of winning a scholarship to an American school.

“Some of the courts were really bad,” Abdoulaye said. “Sometimes you get frustrated [because no one] cleaned the floor and you’d have to get new shoes every practice.”

But Abdoulaye refused to be intimidated by his age gap with the other men and continued playing basketball twice a day during the week and all day over the weekend. In the meantime, he studied for his exam.

After passing the test and waiting a year due to COVID, now-senior Abdoulaye moved to East his sophomore year and continued his basketball career.

During the 2022-2023 season, Abdoulaye averaged 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game and scored 125 points over the course of the season. 

Now in his final high school season, Abdoulaye hopes to qualify for state and come back stronger from their loss during the first round last year. Abdoulaye also hopes to leave a legacy by breaking school records for rebounds and assists.

Since moving, Abdoulaye has bonded with his teammates and has always felt welcomed by the East community.

“My [East] teammates are nice and they’re smart,” Abdoulaye said. “I have always felt like a part of the team. Since day one I was shown respect.”