Samuel Mbingazo finds home at Iowa City High

IOWA CITY — It’s not every day a 6-foot-9 freshman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo transfers to your school.

It’s even rarer that the same kid is a highly recruited basketball player with multiple Division I basketball offers.

But that is what freshman Samuel Mbingazo has brought to Iowa City High.

Born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Samuel didn’t play basketball initially when he was growing up.

“In fact, my parents didn’t like it when I played basketball,” he said. “When I was on my way to practice, they would say, ‘no, stop, go to school, not to practice.’”

It wasn’t until his ninth birthday that his uncle told him to play basketball. His uncle saw the potential Mbingazo had, being extremely tall and lanky for his age.

Basketball became an obsession for Mbingazo. He would go with a neighbor to train before and after school every day.

A couple of years before Mbingazo moved, his uncle came to the United States. Seeing the potential for his nephew, he convinced him to move across the world.

“He told me that, in the United States, you can study and play basketball and that your doors will open to opportunities like the NBA,” Mbingazo said. “In the Congo, (those opportunities) are not as good.”

He moved to Los Angeles first, living with his coach and spent almost all of his time playing basketball. He began to make great leaps in his basketball abilities.

However, he was only going to school maybe two to three times a week. He wasn’t able to learn English, which was one of the big reasons for moving to the United States.

After sitting down and talking with his uncle, they decided it was best for Mbingazo to move in and live with his uncle in Iowa.

“My uncle told me to come to Iowa’s high school (where) I could come here to better learn English,” Mbingazo said.

After moving to the Iowa City Community School District, Mbingazo and his uncle decided it was best to attend City High.

“When I came, I knew players from this school, like AJ (Wright) and Jameer (Newell),” he said. “When I came here, my uncle told me to stay and study here. He told me to go to City High because this is a good school.”

Mbingazo still has four years of high school basketball left to play. After he completes his prep career, he plans on attending college and playing basketball. He has multiple Division I offers and lots of interest from other schools.

He wants to have a better understanding of English before discussing the offers. He said he does not want to misrepresent himself or his intentions.

However, a player like Mbingazo is one with an extremely high ceiling.

He has started all five games this season, averaging 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He wants to do whatever it takes to help propel the team to new heights.