Hooping Far From Home

By USC Athletics Black History Month

February 8^th, 2021

At 6’10,” freshman forward Boubacar Coulibaly towers over most people.

It’s hard to imagine that someone so athletically inclined didn’t pick up a basketball until age 14, but Coulibaly started out playing soccer, not basketball, while growing up in Bamako, Mali. Coulibaly played for two years as the only boy at an all-girls basketball club before he was selected to study and play high school basketball in America at a camp designed to give players from Mali the opportunity to do just that.

The summer before his sophomore year of high school, Coulibaly came to the U.S. alone, leaving behind his mother, Teiné, his father, Moussa, an older brother, a younger brother and a younger sister.

He spoke only French, and spent three months in San Diego, playing AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball and taking intensive English classes prior to enrolling at San Gabriel Academy in Los Angeles.

He learned to adjust to a faster style of play than he was used to back home and quickly learned to keep up with peers who had grown up in the game, as well as the rigorous schedule that came with high school basketball.

“I wasn't used to getting up in the morning and coming to practice, then to class right after,” Coulibaly said. “The schedule was way hard for me, because I had never been through any schedule like that.”

Coulibaly’s dominance on the court soon made him a standout. As a captain on his San Gabriel Academy team, he became the No. 30 center in the country prior to graduating in 2020. Committing to play ball for the Trojans was a choice that Coulibaly says was the “best decision I’ve ever made.”

This season, Coulibaly is one of almost 40 Pac-12 men’s basketball players from outside the U.S. He joins Oregon’s N’Faly Dante as the only two current Pac-12 players from Mali, both part of a growing presence of international athletes in Pac-12 play.

His USC debut against Montana in November was a moment that Coulibaly described as a “dream coming true.”

Coulibaly is competitive, and has his sights set on greatness, aspiring towards a successful career as a Trojan and later, in the NBA.

“Ever since I was in Mali, I told my friends, I’m not just gonna play basketball to play basketball, I’m playing basketball because I want to be one of the best players in the world.”

Still, being away from home can be challenging. Coulibaly has seen his parents just once since coming to the U.S. His family has never watched him play basketball before. But he remains motivated by them, mindful of the sacrifice he’s made to reach his dreams.

“I miss my family, always do,” Coulibaly said. “Miss my mom, miss my parents, my siblings, you know, being around them, all that stuff. But if I do make that sacrifice, I have to make it work, keep working and do everything right because I made that sacrifice.”

Nevertheless, Coulibaly is excited to be a Trojan and continue proving his abilities on the court.

“I’ve been working for so long. I feel like I’ve worked really hard. I know I deserve to be here.”

Boubacar Coulibaly and the Trojans are closing in on their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. Click Here to learn more about USC Men's Basketball.