Keba Keita’s body is telling him he’s tired these days. The BYU standout is in the gym every single day, and in between regularly scheduled training, he’s flying around the country for workouts with NBA teams. There’s rarely down time, he’s always on the go, and everything seems to be coming at him a mile a minute. But he doesn’t want it to stop. He’s loving every second, and though his body is tired, his mind and his heart are ready for more, and he’s overjoyed with the possibilities of the future. “I never expected anything like this,” Keita told the Deseret News. ### Humble beginnings At first, Keita didn’t even like basketball. His older brother, Noumory, like other family members, played volleyball (he’s actually turned volleyball into a successful career and is currently ranked third globally). So Keita felt like it was a family obligation to do the same thing. He also played some soccer, but eventually grew so much that it was difficult to get cleats in the right size. When he started to play basketball, he didn’t know very many other boys who were playing; it wasn’t organized or officiated, and there was no prize for winning. So Keita almost quit. But, while practicing one day when he was 15, he dunked the ball. What could Keba Keita’s basketball future look like? “The first week, I actually quit,” Keita said. “I went back home after playing and I was like, ‘This is not it, it’s not for me.’ Then I went back, and I had my first dunk, and I’ll never forget that feeling. It was the greatest feeling, and that’s really what got me sticking to it.” Still, Keita never could have imagined that this is where he would be. It’s not a future he thought possible. Coming from one of the most impoverished and underdeveloped countries in the world, having never played organized basketball before arriving in Utah, Keita feels great pride when he looks at what his life is like now. Many of the things that most of us take for granted were things that Keita had no experience with when he first came to the United States. When he first made the journey from Mali to Utah in 2019, Keita was just 16 years old. That trip, which he made on his own, marked the first time that he had been on an airplane. Then he arrived in a place where he was struggling with the language, at first communicating through Google Translate with his host family, who would eventually become his legal guardians. He had to learn how to live with fully integrated indoor plumping, running water and electricity. He learned how to cook on a stove rather than over an open flame. He learned how to eat with dishes and utensils regularly and then utilize the dishwasher. Meanwhile, as he was intensively studying English more and more, he was adjusting to a wildly different culture. Even after a year at American Heritage School, he still thought about giving up because everything was so hard and so different. “I remember waking up here in Utah and it was so quiet,” Keita said. “The house was so quiet. You would think that it was calm and peaceful. But I’m not used to that. Back home, you wake up, and there’s like kids screaming, playing around, all kinds of noises from outside. So, I woke up to the quiet and it just made me miss home.” AJ Dybantsa believes he is No. 1, and that belief sets him apart But that quiet did not extend to the basketball court. There, he found that yelling and intensity were norms. Another adjustment. At first, he thought that his coaches hated him because of the yelling. Now, he recognizes tough love and understands that coaches who want the best for their players will use the full range of their voice and it doesn’t mean that there are any bad feelings. And despite all of the cultural differences and difficulties, Keita found common ground with his teammates and coaches over the years — a love of winning. He’s ultra-competitive and he wants to win, no matter what it takes. Transferring to Wasatch Academy and playing for coach Paul Peterson was a pivotal experience for Keita. Though it was still difficult, he learned a lot, fell more in love with basketball, and felt like Peterson helped him gain confidence that basketball could open up the world for Keita. “That was a big turning point in my life,” Keita said. “There was a lot of things that I didn’t understand, and still, even now, I’m still learning. And coach Peterson was really hard on me. I didn’t understand at the time that he wanted the best for me. But I’m glad I went there, because I learned about myself too, it helped me grow a lot faster, be more mature. If anything, being there helped me really understand my resilience.” ### Motivation Early on, the motivation to play basketball was about the hardware and having fun. He wanted trophies and medals, and he wanted to win. As he continued to learn more about basketball over the years, he found that there were other motivations. It was a more physical game, where winning small, physical battles and winning positioning and possessions led to team victories. Those team victories led to more games to play. There was recognition, there were trophies, celebrations and fanfare. Winning was a great motivator. Eventually, basketball gave Keita the ultimate motivation — opportunity. Where could Richie Saunders be selected in the NBA draft? He thinks about his mother, Hawa, and how much she’s sacrificed for her children — Keita and his four siblings. He thinks about the work that his father, Lassana, has done in mines in Mali and how much it has taken his father away from the family. He thinks about the children in his community and the lack of basic resources that the people of Mali have access to. Keita has established a foundation, and everything that happens from this point on in his basketball career will serve as a vehicle to give back to the place that he truly calls home. “Right now, I’m like bringing like really basic stuff, like shoes. I’m collecting shoes and clothes. ... But, in the future, the big picture will be to bring wells to different regions in Mali, and schools and even hospitals.” The idea of founding a clinic that can cater to the needs of children in Mali is a dream for Keita. It’s a dream that feels far away, but he recognizes that he’s at a point right now that also felt far away and impossible at one point. ### The future Against all odds and expectations, Keita carved out an incredibly impressive collegiate career, first at the University of Utah and then at BYU. Though his teammate AJ Dybantsa has garnered more of the headlines, as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Keita has consistently impressed NBA teams throughout the predraft process. “Keba is on the rise,” his agent, Keith Kreiter, said. “He’s been outplaying bigs who are projected to go in the first round. His physicality and ability to guard one through five makes him a no-brainer for the mid-to-late second round.” He’s worked out with the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, and still has workouts scheduled with the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. He caught the eye of a number of scouts and executives at the G League Elite Camp in Chicago — part of the NBA combine — and he’s been praised in workouts for his athleticism and his finesse when it comes to touch and feel around the rim. Additionally, there have been a number of people pleasantly surprised by his shooting abilities, something he didn’t often get to showcase in college. The NBA draft will be held on June 23 and 24. Keita isn’t guaranteed to be drafted, but a handful of scouts told the Deseret News that a second-round projection makes sense and that a two-way deal feels like a really high likelihood for Keita. No matter what, Keita knows that wherever he ends up will just be the jumping-off point for him. He keeps in mind what his mother tells him — to never be satisfied, to always try for more and to always keep God close. With his mother’s advice, his dreams for the future of what he could do for Mali kept close to his heart, Keita is trying his best to enjoy every second and appreciate how far he’s come. “My body is definitely screaming now, but my mind isn’t, and I’m still excited going through this process,” Keita said. “It’s been fun, it is fun, and you get to do this once. I just make sure I enjoy every single bit.”

BYU’s NCAA Tournament path is set. The Cougars have earned a 6 seed in the East Region. They will face VCU in the round of 64 on Thursday in Denver, as announced during Sunday’s bracket reveal show on CBS. > HEADED TO DENVER! pic.twitter.com/uLv0djDc8L > > — BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 16, 2025 Under first year head coach Kevin Young, the Cougars have now been invited to go dancing for the second consecutive season and 32nd occasion in program history. Young will attempt to end a futile March stretch for BYU, as the Cougars have lost their past five NCAA Tournament contests and haven’t won a game in the event since 2012. In 2024, 6 seed BYU was upset in the opening round by an upstart Duquesne squad that was making its first tournament appearance since 1977. VCU — just like Duquesne last season — is the Atlantic 10 tournament champion, currently ranking No. 30 in KenPom as one of the best defensive teams in the country. The 28-6 Rams are led by head coach Ryan Odom, who arrived in Richmond following two seasons at the helm of Utah State from 2021-23. Should the Cougars take care of business Thursday against VCU, they would face the winner of a 3-14 matchup between Wisconsin and Montana.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) have emerged as powerful vectors for liquid biopsy, offering a noninvasive window into the dynamic physiological and pathological states of the body. However, to fu...

This article traces an exploratory journey into the Papers of the University Librarian at the University of Virginia (UVA), shedding light on lesser-known aspects of Harry Clemons’ contributions beyon...

Unitree showcases Cluster Cooperative Rapid Scheduling system with their “Kung Fu Bot” model byu/BuildwithVign […]

Arizona have apologized after some of the team’s fans directed abuse at BYU after the Cougars’ upset victory over the Wildcats on Saturday