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As a teenager, when she was walking down a street in Rwanda, 6-foot-4 Bella Murekatete was discovered by well-regarded basketball coach who was in the neighborhood.
Within a year, she had represented her country at the U16 level and soon moved to the United States to play high school ball. After wrapping up her college career at Washington State, where she made a name for herself as one of the best rebounders in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, she signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury. She’s yet to play in the W, but after receiving precious advice from Brittney Griner, she continues to grind and work on her skills.
Following a strong professional season in Spain playing for Sedis Cadí La Seu, she’s back in Rwanda, but will soon set off for another adventure—one that will, hopefully, culminate in her making her WNBA debut. Below are some highlights from a recent conversation with Swish Appeal:
On how she started playing basketball:
I was walking down the street. I got hurt [playing volleyball] and then I went to the hospital. And then after that I was walking to the store to go see my mom. And then this famous coach, who was in our neighborhood, was like, “Oh my gosh, that’s a tall kid.” And so then he stops the car. He said he thought I was pretty tall and stuff, he got me to love basketball the same year. He was the coach of this really famous boarding school, he produced a lot of good players for volleyball and basketball, so then he told me how he could help me get into that school and help me become a better basketball player. Long story short, I started playing for the national team the same year I joined [the school].
On what makes her a good rebounder:
I think what makes me a good rebounder is that I’m explosive and I’m not the typical 5 that’s big and slow and taller. I’m slim, athletic and I get off the floor pretty fast. So I think that helps me in getting the rebounds and tipping the ball. Most of the time now, especially overseas, I was tipping the ball a lot because I was playing against taller players, so I’m tipping it because I’m getting off the floor pretty fast because I could jump faster than them, and I think that’s what makes me pretty good.
A special thank you to Maxym Lejeune of LBM Management for arranging the interview.
