In 1997, Mariam Diallo Eyenga left Guinea, a coastal country in West Africa, for an education in the United States.
Her English wasn't great, so Mariam studied English as a second language in New York, then moved to California, where she enrolled in a community college and welcomed a son into her world.
She surrounded her boy with sports – a soccer ball, tennis ball, and a basketball.
"He gravitated more toward the basketball," Mariam laughed.
She named him Souleymane, which means "king," after his father.
When Souley Boum was around five years old, Mariam started taking him to a park near their house in Oakland, California.
"It's called Mosswood Park," she said. "The first time we went there, some grown guys were playing pick-up (basketball) at the park. And Souley wanted so bad to play with them, and they were nice, they were like, 'OK, little man.'
"They would pass him the ball. He would go on and dribble. I'd take him to that park anytime. That was like our little place to play."
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That was Souley's first time playing basketball.
"I saw a lot of older dudes playing basketball. I'd see them dribble between the legs, shooting jumpers, stuff like that, and I'm like, 'I'm trying to do that,' " Souley said. "I just wanted to emulate them. Ever since then, I just took off with it, fell in love with it, watched it, played it. That was my passion."
Souley was small and skinny, but he continued playing and kept growing.
During high school, he didn't have many offers to play in college, but he knew he was good enough.
He jumped on an opportunity to play at the University of San Francisco and as a 6-foot-3 freshman combo guard, Souley averaged 10.9 points per game and was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team.
Then he transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso, where his game continued to evolve. In three seasons at UTEP, he averaged 16.9 points, becoming a go-to scorer with a keen ability to get to the free-throw line and converting nearly 85% of his attempts.
When Souley decided to take advantage of a graduate transfer year, there was a common thread that tied his past to his future.
Two years ago, UTEP played at Arizona when head coach Sean Miller was still with the Wildcats. Now, Miller's at Xavier.
"I had a lot of options ... but I just felt like this was the best situation for me," said Souley, who committed to play for Miller at Xavier. "Sean Miller, I played against him. He coached against me, he scouted me, he saw me up close and personal. I felt like I was needed here."
Xavier's entire staff was involved in Souley's recruitment. He got calls from Miller, assistants Dante Jackson and David Miller, but associate head coach "Adam (Cohen) was really the guy that was calling me every day," Souley said. "It was a need for me, not just a want."
As for what Xavier fans can expect from Souley, he said, "Somebody who's gonna play hard on both sides. Somebody that's gonna be a good teammate. Somebody that's gonna be a leader, a good person on and off the court."
The two constants in Souley's life have been basketball and his mom.
Souley, an only child, was raised by his mom.
"My mom, she's a very strong, independent woman," Souley said. "She sacrificed a lot for me. She moved here to this country alone from Guinea. She loves basketball as well. She critiques me a lot on my game. She tells me what I need to do well, what I need to work on. That's my mom, I love her. She'd do anything for me, so I'm just trying to go as far as I can with this game so I can repay her ... I wouldn't be in this position without her."
Mariam's been able to see her little boy grow into a young man who's made the most of his opportunities. She saw Souley get doubted because he was too skinny, and she saw a chip develop on his shoulder, as well as the desire to prove people wrong.
"I am really, really proud of him because like growing up in Oakland and being able to do that, you might know or might not know, if you can survive Oakland, you can survive anywhere," she said.
Mariam talks to her son before and after every game. She said she's become his coach and his psychologist. She praises him when he deserves it, and if he plays poorly, she's not afraid to tell him.
"When he misses his free throws it gets me really, really something," she laughs. "I'll tell him like straight up, 'Dude you didn't do good today.' Souley and I talk before he goes to the game, and after the game, we talk anytime, it doesn't matter where he is. It can be midnight and he will call me.
"We have a very, very close relationship. We can talk about anything and everything."
Mariam's already made plans to come and visit Souley in Cincinnati.
"I told him I have to go and decorate his apartment, and he's like, 'No, mom,' " Mariam laughs, adding that Souley eventually broke down and agreed. "I told him I'll go in August when school starts, so I can help him with his apartment, and then after that, of course, I'm gonna go watch him play, especially this being his last year of college basketball.
"I will be there."
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