Sekou Tunkara – Basketball Success Journey

The Journey of Sekou Tunkara: Rising Basketball Star

Sekou Tunkara is not just a name in the world of basketball; he is a symbol of perseverance, hard work, and the relentless pursuit of dreams. At just 17 years old, Sekou has already made a remarkable impact in the sports arena, playing for Uchena Academy and being ranked as the 13th best player in the country. But his journey to the top was not without challenges and sacrifices. Raised in Gambia before moving to Canada in 2016, Sekou’s story is one of transformation, from an unfamiliar spectator of basketball to a formidable player on the court.

Video Chapters

00:00 Meet Sekou Tunkara
00:11 Finding Basketball
00:44 Rapid Rise and Ranking
01:18 Discovering LPS Training
02:07 Why Strength Matters
02:50 On Court Skill Gains
04:31 Injury Proofing the Body
04:57 Mobility and New PRs
05:38 Confidence and Mindset
06:32 Balancing School and Grind
08:04 Dream Path to Division I
08:29 Advice and Motivation
09:28 Family First Finish

Discovering the Love for Basketball

Sekou did not begin life with a basketball in hand. Born in Canada but raised in Gambia, he immigrated back to Canada in 2016, knowing little about the sport. “I just watched it,” he recalls, as his father shared his passion for the game. Initially, Sekou played basketball just for fun with his older brother. However, as his brother started taking the game more seriously, Sekou found himself falling in love with it too. The turning point was when his brother quit and encouraged Sekou to continue pursuing basketball, believing in his potential.

The Rise to Prominence

The beginning of Sekou’s basketball journey was rocky. Joining his first team, he struggled initially but gradually improved with dedicated guidance from his coach, who saw promise in him. This belief and encouragement led Sekou to transfer to a prep school, Uchena Academy – a decision that proved to be a blessing. From being a relatively unknown player, Sekou worked hard, grew stronger, and rose through the ranks to become one of the top basketball players in Canada. Now, coaches from different regions reach out to him, offering opportunities that once seemed out of reach.

Training at LPS and Overcoming Challenges

Sekou’s growth, both on and off the court, would not have been possible without rigorous training. He credits a significant part of his development to LPS, a gym recommended to him by his coach’s friend. Although daunting at first due to the simultaneous demands of basketball, school, and weightlifting, Sekou found confidence in training at LPS. This training regime transformed his game, leading to substantial improvements in strength, balance, and overall gameplay, allowing him to handle physical challenges on court more effectively.

Balancing Life and Priorities

Being a 17-year-old balancing school, basketball, and intense training at LPS is not easy. What sets Sekou apart is his dedicated mindset and the sacrifices he has made. He acknowledges that giving up free time for training and academics is a necessary part of life – not just for his personal achievements but for his family’s well-being. Sekou’s goal is clear: he wants to ensure his family never struggles and has committed to doing whatever it takes to make that happen, including working tirelessly towards his dream of playing in the NBA.

Reflection

For Sekou, surrounding himself with the right people has been crucial. He advises young athletes to find those who genuinely want to help them improve rather than those who simply feed their ego. He values honesty and constructive criticism over empty praise. Sekou also emphasizes the importance of recognizing and seizing opportunities rather than dwelling on what might be missed. He cherishes the experiences and opportunities basketball has afforded him – experiences that broaden his view and enrich his life far beyond the typical teenage experience.

Sekou Tunkara’s story is one of determination, sacrifice, and the unwavering pursuit of dreams. His journey from a young boy in Gambia to a top-ranked basketball player in Canada serves as an inspiration to many who aspire to reach the heights of their chosen endeavors. With his eyes set on university and eventually the NBA, Sekou’s path is a testament to what can be achieved through commitment and hard work. As he continues to rise, Sekou remains rooted in his purpose: to take care of his family and fulfill his potential on the global stage of basketball.

>> Watch more of our athlete success stories here.

TRANSCRIPTION:

My name is Sekou Tunkara. I’m 17 years old, and I play for Uchena Academy, and I’m the number 13 ranked player in the country. But I was born here, but I was raised most of my life back in a place called Gambia. I came here in 2016. By then, I wasn’t really familiar with basketball. I didn’t know basketball at all.

I just watched it. My dad watched it, and then I was watching it with him, but I didn’t really play at that time. And then my older brother started playing first, and then he would call me to come play with him outside, and I would play with him, but it was just something that we did for fun. And then he started taking it more seriously, and then he started teaching me more, and then I started falling in love with basketball, and we started talking about how we wanna make it more far in basketball.

But it was more for him, not me. And he quit basketball to go ’cause he didn’t wanna play anymore. But he convinced me to start playing basketball. And then one of my friends from school had a team, and then a coach needed me to come play for him. Beginning of the season I wasn’t really doing good ’cause I just started And then from then on, it just skyrocketed ’cause the coach used to train me every day like I’m putting the work in ’cause he believed in me ’cause he seen something in me.

And then I transferred from there to like a different school. Now I’m at a prep school now called Uchena Academy. And then from there on, been a blessing. I had so much experiences. I went from a nobody to now being ranked. And then now, like I’m one of the top, most top players in Canada and like I’m getting more, many opportunities for different coaches calling me to come play for them, and now been a blessing.

How I heard about LPS, my coach has a friend that used to come here and then my coach called him to say that he told me to come here ’cause he knew the people over here and then he recommended this gym. So he brought us here but it was during the season, so we couldn’t really come here during the season.

They told us come back after the season is done and then we can we can work out and work. When the season done, you have more time to gain more weight. And then during the March break, I ca- I came here, and then I did a lot of testing. At first, it was kinda scary just ’cause like now I have to do basketball, school, and weightlifting at the same time, so I didn’t know what to expect.

And then my first week, I’ll give my confidence up and then I’ll try to get used to it. But my second week, third week, I got more used to it now and now I’m more comfortable and now I can come here and get a maybe feeling ’cause the people here help you out a lot and they really support you and have your back.

It’s important to be in the weight room ’cause getting bigger on the court i- is very helpful. Like for me, like when I, before I came here, I was like weight, like 178 and like people used to bump me around. I would never in balance. Like people would just just bump me out the way and like it was embarrassing.

My coach was telling me like, “If you wanna go to college, there’s guys who are 10 times bigger than kid in high school. You have to get ready for college.” And then from then on, it’s like no matter how good I am right now, at the end of the day, it’s about size and strength. And then coming to the weight room, it helped me now and now I gain almost 20 pounds in, in maybe a month and a half.

So it really helped me. I have more balance, I have more confidence, and like just helped me as a player more ’cause now no one can bully me on the court no more. I’m now the one who’s bullying people on the court, so and I, it made me feel. Some of my improvement that I’ve seen at LPS is my strength has gone up a lot and my body has gotten bigger.

My jump shot is not as flat as it used to be before. And now, like I go more like aggressive when I’m going for layups, and then like I dunk more now. Before I used to probably dunk twice a game, but now it’s probably five times a game now. Now it like, i- it more like volleyball and not playing softball now, so you know, it helped me a lot.

Yeah, in the… They see a lot of improvement ’cause in the beginning of the season, I was, I didn’t start at all, right? And then I was probably averaging about, let’s say 10 points And then when I started coming to LPS and working on my body, went from ten pounds to now almost twenty-five. So it’s been a very big improvement, and my coaches seen it a lot that my body has gotten bigger, and even it’s shocking that I also grown mature too.

‘Cause they been on me even here, like they get on you like motivation, turn you into a dog. And, like, when we come in the beginning and we do the lifting and squats, it really helped me with my j- like, quads and my jump and my… I also do a lot of hips it really helped me.

And then we do a lot of shoulder workouts, okay, which helped me bump guys on the court. And also I can get up faster now. Before I used to get up slowly, and people used to contest me a lot at the rim, but now I get up faster and So overall it like, there were a lot of improvements, not just in one area, but in many areas.

From before I came here and until now, it’s been a way big experience. Even my teammates can tell you, my coaches can tell you, a big im- like, improvement to my body, to my mind and to the way I move and the way I score. It’s way more different than I used to. Back then it was more of soft touches and stuff, but now it’s more yeah, aggressive before I put… I came to LPS, I pulled my Achilles and it took me almost a month to recover. And then when I came to

LPS, I worked on everything. And now my injury is less ’cause before e- every game I used to get injured somehow either my knees, my back, my neck. Yeah, all used to get hurt and I think ’cause people bumping me. But now I can take more contact and I feel way more better than before.

So my biggest challenge when I first came to LPS was I couldn’t get low enough ’cause my calves were too tight. And I had to loosen it up, and my, my body was overall was just too tight. I didn’t stretch as much. And then when I was doing squats, my knees, my my heels keep rising up, and then…

And they told me my, my thing is too tight. I have to do way more s- stretching than I, I’m doing now. And then I started stretching, and then now I can get down more and I can lift more weights now. Before I could barely even do two chin up. I could barely do one chin up.

But now I go- I can do three, four chin ups without even struggling, so it’s been a big improvement. Training at LPS made me more confident ‘Cause I look bigger and plus at 6’8″, being more bigger it, you wanna feel confident, you walk like you’re a man. And you also feel like the man ’cause you’re way bigger, too, you’re bigger than the average person. And on the court it I feel like most guys are smaller than me. So having that weight and height advantage, it can carry you on a long way. But at the university level, that can only get you so far. So I have to keep working and I can’t let it get to my head, but overall being out here has really given me confidence a lot.

One thing I learned earlier before I came to when I came to Upstate was to sacrificing your free time for the greater good. But I’m doing it for my family. I’m doing the, I’m trying to make sure I take care of my family. So if I gotta sacrifice my free time and also lose some sleep I figure I’ll do that, then I gotta do that to help my family and make sure they’re in the best situation.

Being 17 and keeping school and basketball and also coming to weightlifting has been, like, very hard. But it’s something that I have to do. It’s not something that I chose to do. It’s something I have to do. The school part, that’s the easy part out of all of this, shockingly. And the basketball part is very intense ’cause it’s every day.

It, like you can’t skip it. And then also ’cause I’m exhausted from basketball we do a lot of stuff in basketball, and I have to come here. And then I usually get home very late, and I have to wake up again very early to get to school. But if I really take the time to make sure I get everything right ’cause I wanna go to university.

So it’s preparing me to go to university and I take every step I can and make sure I get what I have to do. The balance for me is very good right now ’cause I have most of my stuff on a, on in balance. Like my basketball is under control, my schooling under control. Like the, our school year is almost at the end, so we’re not as playing as much basketball as we are.

So I have more time to focus on weightlifting and basketball. ‘Cause the school part, it gets kinda easy now. Now I can focus more on the weightlifting, getting my body right for next season, and also focusing on AAU. So the balance right there is amazing. And I also have time to do my homework and stuff.

You gotta cut distractions. When people tell you to go outside, you gotta say no. That’s the hardest part is saying no. It’s ’cause the people who most of your life, like your friends, when they say, “Yo, let’s go play basketball right now,” you gotta say no ’cause you can risk injury and for long term.

And plus you got stuff to do. It like, a lot of times I’m like, “I don’t wanna come. I don’t wanna come in. I’m too tired.” But it’s I have to do it. It’s I have no choice ’cause that’s what I wanna do. I signed up for this. My dream is to get to NBA, but the steps to the dream first I have to go go to university first and then make sure I do go to university and eventually then hopefully NBA.

But right now the goal is to try to get to a Division I school and get the best coaching, get the best training, and make sure I get the best coaching staff around me that can help me get my game up, and not just my basketball, but off the court, and try to get prepared for the NBA.

My biggest advice to a 17-year-old is Try to find people who wanna make you better. Not just people who are just around you who keep just boosting your ego just to get something from you. Try people that tell you the truth, that, “Hey,” they’re 100 with you. If you’re doing something wrong, they’ll tell you “Yo, you’re not working hard enough.

Yo, you gotta step up your game.” If you’re around those kinda people, they just feed you lies, and then you go your whole life just thinking like that, and it won’t get you nowhere. If they tell you the truth, you’re gonna better yourself, and it take you very far. What many people don’t see is the amount of time I be in the gym, and I wanted to quit.

I wanted to quit so many times but I just have to do it. It not even an option for me. By force, that’s what a lot of people don’t see. A lot of people see, “He has height,” or, “He’s going,” or, “He doesn’t really gotta work as much.” The amount of work that I put in, every day I gotta just come in there work.

Not many people can do it. It not easy. I get that I’m blessed with the height. It makes it easier on the court, but that didn’t mean I’m not working as hard as someone who is shorter than me. I don’t wanna see my mom have to go to work. E- even my dad. I want them to have the best life.

Even my sisters I don’t want them to have to pay for anything or rely on someone else to pay for them. I don’t know, but I really wanna take care of them. That’s what really motivates me every day to I, I just want, I wanna take care of my family and my family back home. I don’t want, I don’t want them to struggle anymore.

That’s one of the biggest motivations for me to keep going. I don’t think I’m missing out on a normal teenage experience. I think as long as I love what I’m doing, I’m not really missing out on much, ’cause there not really much to do, honestly. And nowadays it just… it, the stuff that most teenagers do not really that fun to me.

What I’m doing right now, I love it. I get to travel. I get to play different competition. I get to see a lot of s- part of the world that many teenagers don’t see, and can only dream of. So I don’t really think I’m missing out. I think if I’m missing out, what, on what I have, so that’s what I’m trying to say.