Since arriving to campus from Canada, LSU sophomore forward Yasmine Bidikuindila has been an inspiration for those coming from abroad to play basketball in the U.S.
LSU coach Nikki Fargas said Bidikuindila and junior guard Shanice Norton leaving their homes to pursue their basketball aspirations are commendable acts that takes a great deal of bravery to do.
“It takes a lot of courage to do what these young ladies have done and they are doing it at a young age,” Fargas said. “They are doing it when they come over while they are in school and adjusting to everything here, which is not easy to do.”
Fargas also believes Bidikuindila is not only inspiring those who come to the United States from abroad, but even more so to the players who are from here.
“Those international kids have a deeper appreciation for what we have here,” Fargas said. “They go about their day appreciating things and it allows our kids from the states to take a step back and think, ‘This is really nice what we have.’ Hearing their paths on getting helps us all have a more humbling experience.”
Coming to Baton Rouge was not originally in Bidikuindila’s plans when deciding to come to America to pursue a college basketball career.
Her initial choice was to attend Providence College in Rhode Island. After making the premature decision, Bidikuindila’s mindset shifted towards the purple and gold.
“I made that decision [to attend Providence College] pretty early,” Bidikuindila said. “I wanted to leave Canada and play in the states. Once [Providence] started looking at me, I said I was going. After staying in Montreal a little longer, I talked to my brother and thought we should look at other options because I believed I could do better than Providence. That’s when LSU came into play. I thought LSU was a better fit for me.”
The diversity LSU has on its team is very unique, as LSU is known to heavily recruit in-state athletes.
Sophomore guard and New Orleans native Rakell Spencer is the only team member from Louisiana. LSU has at least one player from the northeast, south, west coast and out of the country.
Having a metaphorical melting pot within one team and combining different styles of basketball presents Fargas with a unique situation. Bidikuindila only adds to an overwhelming amount of cultural diversity on this team.
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Bidikuindila spent the majority of her life playing a completely different brand of basketball, which called for a transition once she arrived to LSU.
“It was difficult,” Bidikuindila said. “The game is a lot faster here. The players are much stronger and faster here.”
At 6-foot-7, Bidikuindila was a dominant force when playing in her home country. In the states, she has to work harder to get her shots up and get around defenders.
“I used to be the biggest post, which made it hard to adjust,” Bidikuindila said. “Back home, all I would have to do is get the ball, keep it high and put it back. Now it has a lot more to do than simply that. There is a lot to learn.”
While Bidikuindila is still adjusting to playing in the United States, she believes she has grown and benefited from playing abroad.
Gaining that exposure to a multitude of styles has helped her develop her game in the U.S., even reflecting back to when she participated in the Canadian National Championship and facing players from other country.
“Playing in other countries definitely helped me because I understand how other people play,” Bidikuindila said. “I remember playing in the Canadian National Championship and going to Puerto Rico. I played against people from all over and it was much more aggressive than I was used to, players coming at you. This helped me learn how to play without fouling and being smart.”
Not only did Bidikuindila learn how to play a variety of basketball styles, she learned how to speak a variety of languages throughout her life.
Bidikuindila can fluently speak five different languages: French, English, Spanish, Lingala and Creole.
French is her first language, but Bidikuindila learned English as she moved around a lot growing up. As for Lingala, Creole, and Spanish,Bidikuindila learned these languages for different reasons.
“My family is originally from Congo, Africa. Therefore, they speak Lingala and I got it from them,” Bidikuindila said. “Montreal is very diverse. I have a lot of Haitian friends there, and I learned Creole from them. As for Spanish, I took it in high school and in elementary school, and it stuck with me ever since.”
As the season moves on,Bidikuindila has began putting up more minutes and contributing more to the team.
Fargas has expressed how she believes Bidikuindila could assume a bigger role for her team in the future once she continues to improve and develop as a player.
“She is getting better,” Fargas said. “She had a great workout over the summer. She has continued to showcase some good things in practice and we will continue to find minutes. It says a lot that she is facing some of the best post players in the country, who are essentially pros, is saying a lot. If she keeps working hard, the playing time will come through that hard work and the maturation process.”