Shematsi Eventually Made Her Way to K-State
Jan 25, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
She began playing basketball at age 9. Her younger brother, Francois-David, played basketball, and she wanted to compete as well. Dance was her first love. She began dancing at age 5. She danced for nine years. Until it stopped. And basketball remained.
Basketball took Sarah Shematsi places.
"I never played basketball because I felt like it could take me somewhere," she says. "I played it because I loved the sport. It was just something I was doing because I liked it."
Sarah grew up in Remy, France. She grew up around her grandmother, her mother, Florence Mujinga Tshilombo, and her brother. She loved to compete. She was always one of the tallest and most physical players on her teams.
People told her, "You have so much potential!"
Sarah moved out at age 12 to attend a primary school geared toward academics and athletics. She attended Notre Dame International High School in Verneuil-sur-Seine, a residential area west of Paris, France.
Her journey was just beginning.
• • •
"Kansas State is family-oriented but all schools will tell you that, but when you actually experience it here, it's different," Sarah says. "It's a different feeling. People here truly care. They truly put student-athletes first and care about my interests outside of basketball as well. I appreciate that about K-State."
Sarah sits in a gray hoodie inside the Ice Family Basketball Center on a sunny afternoon in late January. She has just finished class. She's a graduate transfer and the first player in K-State women's basketball history from France.
"Recently, I've written seminars and essays about something I really care about — mental health in sports," she says. "This is a field that I really care about. I'm also interested in non-profit organizations. I'd like to create one of my own one day. I'm a woman of faith so that's something that is really big in my life as well.
"I came to find out that we often as athletes correlate mental health with the tendency to blame others, but sometimes the pain or stress that we're feeling is because of our own traumas, which are being revealed through sports. It's interesting to go deeper into that side of things."
Sarah loves basketball, but spend a few moments with her and it becomes apparent there are things equally deep in her heart. She loves education. She has a willingness to learn and adapt. More often than not, she's on her own.
"My family is very important to me but we've been separated for a long time," she says. "My mother is like, 'You can come home if you want to.' My family is always there for me. I got to see them this Christmas. It'd been two years since we'd seen each other. That felt really good.
"My grandmother is truly deep in her faith and that inspires me a lot. My mother has a strong and relentless mentality. When you see her, she's always smiling and peaceful."
Sarah arrived at K-State in late August upon graduating from LSU, where she played in 2020-22, appearing in 35 games with two starts. Once, she scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line against UCF on December 4, 2020.
Sarah didn't have a summer to become acquainted with her new K-State teammates and coaches. She knew head coach Jeff Mittie. He had originally recruited her to K-State before she chose LSU. Now she was back in Manhattan. And Mittie couldn't be happier.
"For her to come in right away and really be a player who mixes well with everybody — international players come a long ways away from home — she's a well-rounded person and has a lot of interests and she was a good teammate from the start.
"She's enthusiastic. She cheers for everybody. She's there for everybody. She came in late and right away everybody liked her. She relates to the older players because she's older but yet she has a good connection to some of the younger ones as well. She's been a good addition."
• • •
She first met Vincent Mbassi when she was 13. Mbassi is the prominent trainer of basketball talent in France. They remained in contact through the years. She played for the Toulouse MB club team. She won the gold medal for France in the 2016 FIBA 3x3 U18 European and World Championships, which she notes as her greatest athletic accomplishment.
"Vincent said, 'You need to come to the U.S. because that is the next step,'" Sarah says. "I said, 'OK.'"
When she was 17, Sarah accompanied her mother and brother to New York City for a vacation. It was her first time coming to America. She loved the Big Apple. She loved the people. She loved the activity. Little did she know that she'd return to America again, this time to attend South Plains College in Levelland, Texas.
She was mightily successful as a 6-foot-2, forward. The 2019 Most Valuable Player at a Juco Top 40 All-Star event, she was a 2019 NJCAA National Tournament All-Tournament team selection, a two-time All-WJCAC honoree, and the 2019 WJCAC Freshman of the Year. She averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a sophomore while helping the Lady Texans to a 33-1 record before the COVID pandemic halted the remainder of the season.
"LSU wanted me before I went to junior college and they saw me during the 3x3 World Championships," she says. "I don't know how many schools I spoke with but my final three came down to LSU, K-State and St. John's. We debated a lot about coming to K-State or LSU.
"Late this summer, when I was in the transfer portal, K-State contacted me, so I came here."
• • •
The plan is to go to Africa to construct basketball courts later this year. Sarah is interested in helping others. Her love of basketball and in helping others gives her the ideal opportunity to combine her two loves in life. The native of France, student of America, and lover of travel is eager to write another chapter to her story.
But before any of that, she's spending her time immersed in earning her graduate degree and helping the K-State women's basketball team. She has started in 13 games this season. She had 18 points while sinking 6-of-10 3-pointers against No. 4 Iowa on November 17. She scored a career-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds against Oklahoma State on January 4. She had 10 points and four rebounds against Texas Tech on January 14.
"When we find her in her rhythm, she has a really good stroke," Mittie says. "Recently, what's been impressive is she's been able to mix up her game better. She's scoring more inside than she was earlier in the year. I'm hoping we can get consistent production from her going forward. You like the 25-point nights, but she had a pretty solid night against Texas Tech. She stretched it from the arc and got inside a little bit."
Her journey continues today.
"So far I'm proud of my relentlessness because I just kept going," Sarah says. "In basketball, in some moments, I wanted to quit, but there was always someone or something that'd push me like, 'You need to do this.' I think everything that everyone does in life has a purpose.
"I knew I needed to keep going."
It's landed her in the Little Apple.
And for that, she's grateful.
She began playing basketball at age 9. Her younger brother, Francois-David, played basketball, and she wanted to compete as well. Dance was her first love. She began dancing at age 5. She danced for nine years. Until it stopped. And basketball remained.
Basketball took Sarah Shematsi places.
"I never played basketball because I felt like it could take me somewhere," she says. "I played it because I loved the sport. It was just something I was doing because I liked it."
Sarah grew up in Remy, France. She grew up around her grandmother, her mother, Florence Mujinga Tshilombo, and her brother. She loved to compete. She was always one of the tallest and most physical players on her teams.
People told her, "You have so much potential!"
Sarah moved out at age 12 to attend a primary school geared toward academics and athletics. She attended Notre Dame International High School in Verneuil-sur-Seine, a residential area west of Paris, France.
Her journey was just beginning.
• • •
"Kansas State is family-oriented but all schools will tell you that, but when you actually experience it here, it's different," Sarah says. "It's a different feeling. People here truly care. They truly put student-athletes first and care about my interests outside of basketball as well. I appreciate that about K-State."
Sarah sits in a gray hoodie inside the Ice Family Basketball Center on a sunny afternoon in late January. She has just finished class. She's a graduate transfer and the first player in K-State women's basketball history from France.
"Recently, I've written seminars and essays about something I really care about — mental health in sports," she says. "This is a field that I really care about. I'm also interested in non-profit organizations. I'd like to create one of my own one day. I'm a woman of faith so that's something that is really big in my life as well.
"I came to find out that we often as athletes correlate mental health with the tendency to blame others, but sometimes the pain or stress that we're feeling is because of our own traumas, which are being revealed through sports. It's interesting to go deeper into that side of things."
Sarah loves basketball, but spend a few moments with her and it becomes apparent there are things equally deep in her heart. She loves education. She has a willingness to learn and adapt. More often than not, she's on her own.
"My family is very important to me but we've been separated for a long time," she says. "My mother is like, 'You can come home if you want to.' My family is always there for me. I got to see them this Christmas. It'd been two years since we'd seen each other. That felt really good.
"My grandmother is truly deep in her faith and that inspires me a lot. My mother has a strong and relentless mentality. When you see her, she's always smiling and peaceful."
Sarah arrived at K-State in late August upon graduating from LSU, where she played in 2020-22, appearing in 35 games with two starts. Once, she scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line against UCF on December 4, 2020.
Sarah didn't have a summer to become acquainted with her new K-State teammates and coaches. She knew head coach Jeff Mittie. He had originally recruited her to K-State before she chose LSU. Now she was back in Manhattan. And Mittie couldn't be happier.
"For her to come in right away and really be a player who mixes well with everybody — international players come a long ways away from home — she's a well-rounded person and has a lot of interests and she was a good teammate from the start.
"She's enthusiastic. She cheers for everybody. She's there for everybody. She came in late and right away everybody liked her. She relates to the older players because she's older but yet she has a good connection to some of the younger ones as well. She's been a good addition."
• • •
She first met Vincent Mbassi when she was 13. Mbassi is the prominent trainer of basketball talent in France. They remained in contact through the years. She played for the Toulouse MB club team. She won the gold medal for France in the 2016 FIBA 3x3 U18 European and World Championships, which she notes as her greatest athletic accomplishment.
"Vincent said, 'You need to come to the U.S. because that is the next step,'" Sarah says. "I said, 'OK.'"
When she was 17, Sarah accompanied her mother and brother to New York City for a vacation. It was her first time coming to America. She loved the Big Apple. She loved the people. She loved the activity. Little did she know that she'd return to America again, this time to attend South Plains College in Levelland, Texas.
She was mightily successful as a 6-foot-2, forward. The 2019 Most Valuable Player at a Juco Top 40 All-Star event, she was a 2019 NJCAA National Tournament All-Tournament team selection, a two-time All-WJCAC honoree, and the 2019 WJCAC Freshman of the Year. She averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a sophomore while helping the Lady Texans to a 33-1 record before the COVID pandemic halted the remainder of the season.
"LSU wanted me before I went to junior college and they saw me during the 3x3 World Championships," she says. "I don't know how many schools I spoke with but my final three came down to LSU, K-State and St. John's. We debated a lot about coming to K-State or LSU.
"Late this summer, when I was in the transfer portal, K-State contacted me, so I came here."
• • •
The plan is to go to Africa to construct basketball courts later this year. Sarah is interested in helping others. Her love of basketball and in helping others gives her the ideal opportunity to combine her two loves in life. The native of France, student of America, and lover of travel is eager to write another chapter to her story.
But before any of that, she's spending her time immersed in earning her graduate degree and helping the K-State women's basketball team. She has started in 13 games this season. She had 18 points while sinking 6-of-10 3-pointers against No. 4 Iowa on November 17. She scored a career-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds against Oklahoma State on January 4. She had 10 points and four rebounds against Texas Tech on January 14.
"When we find her in her rhythm, she has a really good stroke," Mittie says. "Recently, what's been impressive is she's been able to mix up her game better. She's scoring more inside than she was earlier in the year. I'm hoping we can get consistent production from her going forward. You like the 25-point nights, but she had a pretty solid night against Texas Tech. She stretched it from the arc and got inside a little bit."
Her journey continues today.
"So far I'm proud of my relentlessness because I just kept going," Sarah says. "In basketball, in some moments, I wanted to quit, but there was always someone or something that'd push me like, 'You need to do this.' I think everything that everyone does in life has a purpose.
"I knew I needed to keep going."
It's landed her in the Little Apple.
And for that, she's grateful.
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