“He was polished as far as presenting himself. Even before he got to high school, he was articulate,” Sally said. “He clearly had an active mind and thinking, you could tell that when you were conversing with him. And he was very ambitious, and I’ve known that ever since. That’s continued, and he’s continued to evolve in all of those characteristics and has become even more impressive as he’s continued along his journey.”
Sally brought in Bassey as a speaker after Bassey got admitted to Harvard. Like Hyatt, Sally recognized Bassey’s unbridled enthusiasm to help out. Sally said that college-bound student-athlete brought “impressive and authentic” wisdom.
“The kids were able to see somebody that they looked at and said, ‘He’s only one or two years beyond where I am,’” Sally said.
“He’s also local, which was helpful. He wasn’t coming in from New York City or something, but here’s someone from Colorado.”
Bassey said by interacting with students at Project Greer Street, he was able to expose them to opportunities beyond athletics and introduce a more complete life path.
Bassey also spent a summer interning with Sally at Project Greer Street to gather information about enriching summer programming and sharing that information with some of the program’s participants.
He encouraged one student to apply to a computer programming program at Stanford.
“A lot of the students, at least [that] I talked with and that I interacted with through Project Greer Street were people who saw sports as their only means of escape, their only means to get away from their parent/family situation, their only means to get to college, their only means to pay for an opportunity outside their local neighborhood,” Bassey said.
“As a result, those kids were, not narrow minded, but they had a very narrow scope, and they didn’t really know of the opportunities that existed outside of sports and athletics.”
Bassey said that he strove to break stereotypes and to serve as a role model for the students in Project Greer Street. This means widening their views of the world, conversation by conversation.
“I think it’s humbling,” Bassey said. “I’ve had such amazing people in my life who’ve almost fallen into my lap. I just happen to know them, to run into them and build a relationship there. I’ve been fortunate in that regard. To be on the flip side of things and be the person who shows up out of nowhere and is like, ‘hey, let me help me, let me be a resource for you to use, and a tool,’ is humbling.”
Conversely, Sally noted the great influence Bassey has had on his students.
“He is very down to earth, very grounded, and personifies class across the board,” Sally said. “So, I would say that’s what stood out.”
Throughout his experiences, from volunteering at the Unified basketball tournament to setting up his own charity basketball tournament to working at Project Greer Street, Bassey’s service work has imparted him with a sense of appreciation for his family, for his school, and for the opportunities given to him.
This compassion is something that Bassey continues to hold on to, even now at Harvard as he participates in a competitive Division 1 collegiate basketball program.
“I think it’s made me a better person overall,” Bassey said.
“I doubt that they’ve understood the influence they’ve had on me, and I think it gets skewed a lot that the person who’s reaching out or giving the talk has all the knowledge to impart and doesn’t gain anything back, and I think I’ve probably got more out of them than possibly I’ve helped them with.”