Future Texas Longhorn Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda has a state title to defend
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (BVM) — In early August, Sioux Falls Washington’s Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda decided where she would take her basketball talents next year after her senior year.
The four-star recruit who is currently the No.29-ranked player in the 2022 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings on ESPNW was choosing from a list of colleges that included Duke, Louisville, Maryland, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. In the end, she chose the University of Texas and couldn’t be happier with her decision.
Focus Forward #ByFaith # IAmAWarrior # HookEm! 🤘🏽 pic.twitter.com/U4AZlTRjVK
— NdjakalengaM (@ndjakalenga) August 3, 2021
“My future teammates were very welcoming when I first came onto campus and the coaches were so close with their team,” Mwenentanda said. “It just felt like a vibe that I really wanted to be a part of.”
“I was just like, ‘I just have to make another visit, I have to be here.’”
From that point on, it was just about going through the process and making sure she was making the right decision. It took time but she had plenty of help from her high school coaches, AAU coaches and her mother, who had played basketball at Old Dominion University.
“The people around me really helped me narrow down my decision,” Mwenentanda said.
The decision ends a college recruiting process that has been going on since Mwenentanda was in seventh and eighth grade. Back then she was receiving some interest from colleges within South Dakota but still wasn’t set on playing a sport in college.
“I didn’t really have the mindset of going to college for sports specifically until I came to high school,” Mwenentanda.
Mwenentanda knew she loved basketball and was certain she would play it in high school, but it wasn’t until after her freshman year that she really started to see her own potential. It was during that time she took her basketball training to the next level and that’s when college coaches started to reach out to her.
That was all Mwenentanda needed to intensify her training regiment and set her sights on taking her career to the next level.
“If these college coaches are seeing the potential I can have, imagine if I put in enough work how great I could be,” Mwenentanda said.
Mwenentanda worked tirelessly to improve her game and employed the help of her mother who was happy to give her the push she needed.
“She knows exactly what it takes to get to the next level,” Mwenentanda said.
The 6-foot-1 wing saw improvement immediately and that just motivated her to work harder.
“That’s satisfying to me is how my hard work can resemble how I am on the court, which is why I go to the gym and try to work as hard as I can because I know it will pay off,” Mwenentanda said.
That hard work has paid off as she is a force on defense, using her length and athleticism to guard any position on the court. On offense she averaged 14.8 points last season which helped her earn first team all-state and made her an important contributor on Washington’s state championship team.
Now it’s also her job to make sure the Warriors are ready to defend their state title. As a senior leader, Mwenentanda wants to make sure Washington does not overlook anyone as it looks to make it back to the state championship.
“I’m excited but I hope I don’t sound bossy,” Mwenentanda jokingly said with a laugh.
She hopes to help her team like the seniors who have come before her.
“You want to make sure everyone on the team feels like they have a role,” Mwenentanda said.
While she tries to fulfill her role on the Warriors she will also be working hard to continue to represent South Dakota on the national stage.
“It’s definitely something that I take pride in having to somewhat represent South Dakota in Texas,” Mwenentanda siad. “To have people come to me and congratulate me and really just appreciate how I’m representing South Dakota. It’s a little pressure having to do that but at the same time I know that if I keep working as hard as I usually do and even more, I hopefully won’t let anyone down.”
