Badou Ba, son of American diplomat, emerges as basketball force at Macalester

Nine nations' flags hang in Macalester College's Leonard Center, each representing a player or staff member's international connection to a 14-man basketball roster that includes three Minnesotans.

It's also only one or two more than the number of countries in which Scots sophomore Badou Ba already has lived.

"I haven't kept count," he said. "I'd say probably seven."

The oldest child of a career U.S. Foreign Service diplomat, Ba has lived in Senegal, Chad and other African countries as well as Saudi Arabia, France and now the United States. He didn't play organized basketball until he left Paris' neighborhood games to attend a Massachusetts prep school four years ago.

That's where Macalester coach and former Scots guard Abe Woldeslassie found him on video supplied by Ba's Williston Northampton coach, whom Woldeslassie knew from eight years on the East Coast chasing the coaching dream.

What Woldeslassie saw was a 6-foot-7 forward/center much like his program: undeveloped but with so much potential.

Macalester went 3-22 the season before Woldeslassie was hired in 2018. The Scots won seven games his first season, eight his second and were 15-13 last season after a very COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season. The sixth-seeded Scots reached the MIAC tournament title game for only the second time in school history and lost at St. John's by four points.

They've started this season 7-2, including 4-1 and tied for second place in MIAC play. They end a long holiday break Wednesday at St. Olaf.

"It's a really talented group that's learning to play with what it takes in the league and with a target now on their back," Woldeslassie said. "They've never had that. I've never had that. It's learning for all of us. We're not little Macalester anymore."

Ba has been named MIAC Defensive Player of the Week four times this season, including each of the first three weeks. He is averaging 3.3 blocks — he had six in the season's second game against Wartburg — and 8.4 rebounds. He's also averaging 10.4 points and shooting 56.3% from the field.

"He's going to be a force in this league," Woldeslassie said. "He's on his way. He's not there yet, but he will be a tremendous player, a superstar in our league."

The globetrotter

Ba was recruited during that pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season when every team everywhere played little.

"We saw him on film; there's no one in our league that is as athletic and as strong as he is," Woldeslassie said. "He didn't play AAU ball, so he was a little bit under the radar. Thankfully, we got him."

Ba chose Macalester because of his well-traveled life, the college's international student body, a campus in the heart of a major city and a chance to play right away.

He lived with his grandparents in Senegal for three years when his mother, Jessica Davis Ba, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, worked in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. She was confirmed last month as the next ambassador to Ivory Coast in west Africa.

"He went to high school in France, prep school in Massachusetts, comes from a great family," said Conner Nord, Macalester associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. "He has seen a lot of stuff."

French is Ba's first language, English his second. He intends to major in economics and political science.

He was asked if there might be some diplomat in him as well.

"I don't know about that, but I definitely want to travel the world, be able to experience multiple cultures and see the world," he said. "I have a passion for it."

Next stop: Europe?

He wants to play professionally in Europe. To get there, he has studied two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was born and raised in Greece by Nigerian parents and came to the league in 2013 as raw as can be.

"He inspired me to try my best at basketball and see where it takes me," Ba said. "He was physically talented, but he put in the work and became one of the best players in the world by improving his game. I love his playing style. He believes in himself. It's amazing what he did with his game and his body, and I try to emulate that."

Nord compares Ba to a Minnesotan he coached when he was an assistant at Carleton College. East Ridge High School graduate Freddie Gillespie played 16 minutes his freshman season and transferred to Baylor a year later. He played in the developmental G League, briefly in the NBA with Toronto and Orlando and now plays in Germany for Bayern Munich.

A former big man himself who tutors Ba daily, Nord calls Ba "one of the most curious players I've ever been around."

Ba played little to start his freshman season. By season's end, he played 27 minutes in the MIAC tournament title loss.

Now in his second season, Ba's learning curve apparently has accelerated beyond month to month, week to week or game to game for a team aimed at a similar trajectory.

"Sometimes it's play by play," Woldeslassie said. "He'll make some plays in the second half that he couldn't make in the first half. He plays with such a motor and such a care and such love. He's still raw and he still makes some mistakes, but he loves the game."