At just 19 years old, sophomore guard Colin Ndaw has accumulated more life experiences than most people triple his age.
Ndaw has not only navigated William and Mary’s strenuous academic and athletic landscapes; before he was old enough to vote, he lived in five nations, moved across the Atlantic Ocean and established his own foundation.
Ndaw’s journey to the United States began at age 13. After receiving a scholarship to IMG Academy, a sports-oriented high school, he moved to Bradenton, Fla., from his home country of Senegal. Ndaw’s adjustment to the U.S. took some time, as the country’s individualistic culture initially surprised him, but he eventually adapted.
“The community back home is very close,” Ndaw said. “So everybody says hi to each other when they walk by someone, everybody eats together. Everybody kind of does everything together, and you kind of know everybody because it is a small community. However, in the U.S., it’s a little bit different. Everybody’s more independent. Everybody kind of is doing their own thing. So at the beginning, it was a little bit tough for me, but I’ve adjusted, and I’ve kind of tried to bring a little bit of my Senegalese culture into other people’s lives, and then also taking that U.S. culture from people of all different backgrounds and bringing that into my life.”
Despite the jarring change, Ndaw described the experience of playing for IMG as “amazing,” and by his senior year, he was averaging 14.1 points per game while making 40% of his three-point attempts.
His performance caught William and Mary’s attention, and the school captured his admiration. According to Ndaw, he joined the Tribe after visiting campus and meeting members of the men’s basketball program.
“I chose William and Mary because I really liked the coaches and the teammates that I saw on my visit, as well,” Ndaw said. “I think it is a tough school for sure, but I am getting adjusted to it, and there is a good community around it. It’s definitely been a journey, but I got a good supporting system around me.”
Ndaw’s transition to William and Mary has not always been the smoothest, and he did not see the floor during his freshman year. He identified the extended college three-point line as the foremost on-court challenge he’s been working to overcome.
“I think it is a little bit of an adjustment, but it is also the physicality and the pace of the game,” Ndaw said. “Kind of makes you rush your shot a little bit, depth perception, there is a lot that goes into it, but at the end of the day, I think it all comes down to confidence.”
Nevertheless, Ndaw said he’s been working hard to make necessary adjustments while still enjoying his William and Mary experience.
“It was definitely an adjustment, and it still is an adjustment, but I am enjoying the process,” Ndaw said. “I love my teammates, my coaches are super good to me, they take care of me.”
Despite now being well-established in the U.S., Ndaw maintains strong connections with his home, a bond forged in large part by the time he spent representing Senegal as a member of its under-18 national basketball team. The experience was exceedingly meaningful to Ndaw and his family. Not only did it helped shape his on-court play style, it also instilled in him a heightened sense of national pride. After arriving at IMG, Ndaw began considering ways he could connect the sport he loves to the country he loves.
“I got to meet so many people [at IMG],” Ndaw said. “It got me to kind of think about basketball as something that can kind of connect people, not only for my own benefit, but for [the benefit of] others.”
While thinking of ways to make a difference, Ndaw drew inspiration from two people: former Norfolk State basketball player Yoro Sidibe and his older brother Hans. When Ndaw was young, he attended basketball camps in Senegal hosted by Sidibe. The clinics, which Ndaw describes as “life-changing,” eventually gave him the opportunity to compete on the country’s national team. Hans, on the other hand, taught Ndaw “the importance of sports” and “how it can connect to everybody, no matter what color, socioeconomics, where [they’re] at in life.”
With these perspectives in mind, Ndaw created the Ndaw Foundation in 2022, which he runs with his sister Dieynaba. The organization is intended to connect children in Senegal with athletic and academic opportunities and “bridge the gap between opportunity and talent.”
“These kids already have all the tools to succeed except the opportunity,” Ndaw said. “So we kind of try to bridge that gap. So what we do is basically, we set up clinics, camps, we kind of connect coaches with others, and we try to impact their youth, putting them through drills, camps, get them connected to each other, but also kind of give them a guide on how they should work out, how they should value their studies.”
Ndaw describes Senegal as a nation full of young people with goals of excelling both athletically and academically, and his ultimate goal is to be the “driving change” in making that happen.
“We have a lot of people who are motivated,” Ndaw said. “We have a very young population. So I think what is the driving force is just our culture of working hard. Like, a lot of kids get up at 6 a.m. and work out until 2 p.m. Just like, a lot of people are willing to achieve their goals, and they see everyone in America doing well in sports, and they want to be one of those people, too.”
According to Ndaw, the foundation’s guiding principle is that “the youth can eventually change the world.” He does not want to stop at clinics — in his vision, the organization will eventually create brick-and-mortar “academies, orphanages and schools” that promote opportunities not just in basketball but in sports like soccer, tennis and track. With the help of Dieynaba, a former Duke soccer player who now competes professionally, Ndaw also wants to let young women know that sports can present opportunities to them, too, a fact he says is currently not widely accepted in Senegalese culture.
For Ndaw, basketball is a way to show gratitude to his roots and to help the next generation achieve its dreams.
“Our problems are important, but people are facing bigger problems,” Ndaw said. “Let’s just enjoy our experience all in all, and let’s just be grateful for everything we have.”
