Next time you catch a Fairfield University men’s basketball game at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena, be on the lookout for the 6’11 forward towering over the court. That forward, Birima Seck, now a senior studying communications here at Fairfield, has worked his way into the heart of both the men’s basketball team and the fans who support them. Now a captain, Seck has long been showcasing signs of leadership and is just focused on one thing: to keep playing basketball.
Seck’s journey is as unique as it gets. Originally from Senegal, Seck grew up playing soccer and had no interest in basketball. Seck retells the story of him shifting sights to basketball, “All my family was soccer players and stuff, so I grew up playing soccer and I loved it, but I started just getting tall out of nowhere. So everybody was just like, how about you try basketball.” Seck wasn’t sold on basketball yet though, “I didn’t even like it.”
It was not until a friend, Mouhamed Barro, took Seck under his wing that he started to take basketball seriously. “He was in Spain, he was a professional basketball player there. So when I saw him like, come in, [to Dakar] for a vacation we hang out together. I saw him like around with the game, and he took me, to play with him and so that’s how I started loving it.”
After some training with Barro, Seck started training with a coach and ended up trying out for Canterbury Basketball Academy in Las Palmas, Spain, once he turned 16. After a crowded tryout session, Seck became one step closer to becoming the rising star he is today. “I went to tryouts that had like a lot of people. Out of, like, I mean, a lot of people I got selected. Me and another dude.”
After a full year in Las Palmas, Seck was faced with the decision of going pro in Spain or moving. “I was going to turn 18 at that time. I was good so it was gonna be the Spanish Third Division League, and I didn’t want that, I moved to the US and I went to the Dream City Christian School in Arizona.” Seck then went on to play for the University of New Mexico for two years and transferred to Fairfield after that. In Seck’s words, “Now I’m here… That’s my journey.”
When approached with the age-old “Why Fairfield?” question, Seck was blunt in his response. “I had a good relationship with Coach Jay Young, who recruited me. I had a pretty good relationship with him.”
It was Coach Chris Casey who sealed the deal, though. Seck gave his now head coach some credit, “Coach Casey was the one who hosted my visit, so that’s how I got close to him. We got closer and closer, I was going to New York with him to get my passport, everything. Before he was a head coach.”
When asked about adjusting to an atmosphere like Fairfield’s, Seck described it as nice compared to a big school like UNM. He cited a special connection to the Mirror as an example of how easy he found it to hang out around campus. “Last year I always hung out in here [The Mirror Office] so like, personally for me, it was easy for me to adapt to here. It was pretty easy to see how kind people were.”
When asked about the influence of religion in his connection to Fairfield, Seck emphasized how welcoming the Christian community has been to him as a Muslim. “I’ve been a Muslim since a young age, so I respect anyone.” As to finding his own space, he mentions the Muslim community, “They be around and having Friday prayers at the chapel, and I feel pretty much at home for it.”
Another sense of home for Seck comes from his wife. Originally from the same area in Senegal, Seck hadn’t met his wife until they met while playing basketball for the same team in Las Palmas. Their love story started off as just friends, and they only started dating right before Seck made the move to Dream City. By the time Seck had left Dream City, she made the move to go there while he was at UNM. Once Seck made his way to Fairfield, she moved to California. They stayed long-distance until this fall when she made her move to Fairfield and became a Stag. On the cusp of their one-year wedding anniversary in December, Seck and his wife often share time together around campus.
Ultimately, the reason he’s here at Fairfield is his number one sense of home: basketball. Now one of four captains, Seck’s leadership and commitment to the team is on full display. Seck broke down how the dynamics work when having four captains, “The referees call us before the game to talk to us, but honestly I don’t like talking to them so I’ll just let two of my other teammates that are captains go. Louis [Bleechmore] and Jamie [Bergens] are the ones that’ll be going to talk to the ref.”
Seck’s leadership is more interpersonal, “I’m just trying to help out my teammates honestly. Especially with a bunch of new guys, I’m just in there trying to show them the way because I already know how the system goes and everything. I’m in there communicating with them, trying to help them out and understand whatever we’re doing.”
Being named a captain is no small feat, but Seck was confident in his chances. “I was in there from day one with the mindset of helping out, and coach noticed that since way before.”
For his future, Seck plans to carry the lessons learned throughout his career with basketball wherever he goes. “As of right now, I’m just going to keep focusing on the season and just trying to help my team win in every way I can. Honestly, I just want to play basketball. Wherever I can go around the world to play basketball, I’ll be thankful, so that’s my plan. Just focus on the season and when the season’s over, see where I can go play.”
With no specific destination in mind, Seck insists he would go “pretty much anywhere” to keep playing basketball. For now, you can catch Seck and the rest of the Stags at Mahoney Arena for their next home game against Fairleigh Dickinson University on Sunday, December 1, at 2:00 p.m., with many more home games to come.
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