“I’m actually 7’5” but I guess 7’6” is good, too,” jokes UCI’s basketball star Mamadou Ndiaye.
At precisely 3:30pm, Irvine’s own celebrity sat down at a table to give a friendly interview as though it was a casual lunch with friends.
Students have seen his pictures all around campus and even on the back of the shuttles. During the interview, he is interrupted by fans coming up to greet him. Although this happens quite often, he remains respectful and responds welcomingly. When asked how he feels about the fame and publicity, Ndiaye admits that it simply means “nothing” to him, and that “it’s not a big deal” because he is used to it by now. Sometimes, though, he needs his privacy. “That’s why I [walk with] my headphones in,” he chuckles.
The freshman center provided a bit of insight into what it’s like balancing athletics, academics, and his social life on campus. Ndiaye is currently undecided in his major, but wishes to pursue business administration. “I like talking to people and marketing, too,” he says. Even though he is a sought-after basketball player, he wishes to continue his educational career at UC Irvine. His commitment to education is demonstrated by his spectacular GPA, which he humbly says could be improved. Ndiaye admits his family “likes school better than basketball,” and he is determined not to let them down with poor grades.
Ndiaye moved from Senegal to the U.S. for a “new experience,” and finished his high school career in Huntington Beach, California. Over the years, he feels he has become accustomed to American life and he has adopted his host family as his own. He has two older brothers back home, and a host brother in California. Ndiaye chose to come to UC Irvine to continue playing basketball and to be near the friends he has made in Southern California.
With only eight years of basketball experience, Ndiaye is definitely an all-rounded athlete. Along with basketball, he also enjoys soccer and beach volleyball. For UCI’s Division I basketball team, he is required to put in one and a half hours of weight-lifting and two and a half hours for practice during the season. Although it is a huge time commitment, Ndiaye is able to maintain his grades while still enjoying the college experience with his Sigma Nu fraternity brothers.
“Basketball is something I like and love; it keeps me out of trouble,” he says. “It comes first and second to me.” Although Ndiaye enjoys playing, he doesn’t let it consume his entire life. He makes it clear that he is just a normal guy. He lives as any other freshman does, in the dorms on campus. Living in Mesa Court with a fellow teammate as his roommate, he goes to eat at the local dining hall, Mesa Commons.
In response to the question “What do you want people to remember you as?” he says, “Honestly, I’m a crazy guy. I like to go to the movies; I like to joke around and have fun.” And that relaxed attitude was exactly the atmosphere carried throughout the interview with Ndiaye. He even kept the conversation going by asking about our backgrounds in return, hoping to get to know us as fellow students rather than interviewers.
After sitting down with our so-called “celebrity,” it was apparent that he is more than the seven and a half foot tall basketball player everybody knows him as. Instead, he is actually pretty “down-to-earth.”