Baye Moussa Keita hobbled across the Petersen Events Center court, a large black brace supporting his right knee.

The Syracuse senior had sprained the knee three days earlier and would be unable to play in arguably the team’s biggest game of the season at the time, as it looked to extend a program-best 23-0 start.

He arrived at the free-throw line on the opposite side of the court and rebounded for his teammates’ pregame shooting drills. Pittsburgh fans roared and hissed, shouting obscenities at every player. Insulting their appearance. Insulting their team. Even insulting their girlfriends.

Yet above the two-foot hunk of metal wrapped around Keita’s knee was a smile just as noticeable. The center laughed and messed around with the team managers, and his constantly upbeat personality never faded.

“I think I just pride myself on happiness,” Keita said.

That unflappable joy epitomized Keita’s career at Syracuse. While he never averaged more than 3.7 points in any of his four seasons as a defense-savvy backup center, Keita affected the program with his everyday effort. So much so that head coach Jim Boeheim created the Baye Moussa Keita Award — the first player-named award in program history — and surprised him with it at the Hardwood Club Dinner on March 10. 

Unwarned, all Keita could say was that he was speechless.

“He just gave me everything he’s got,” Boeheim said. “I think all players try to do that, but very few are actually able to give you everything they have.”

For Keita, sometimes that was coming in to play garbage-time minutes while other rotation players rested. Other times, it was picking up extra minutes when sophomore DaJuan Coleman suffered a season-ending knee injury, or junior Rakeem Christmas dealt with foul trouble.

But every time he stepped on to the court, he did so with composure — and oftentimes a smile.

He made arguably his greatest on-court contributions in Syracuse’s 69-59 win over Boston College on Jan. 13. 

With Eagles guard Lonnie Jackson burning the Orange from beyond the arc, Boeheim moved up the wings in his 2-3 zone, all but leaving Keita alone in the middle for about the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Syracuse outscored BC 23-8 down the stretch.

“Everyone gravitates to the offensive impact player,” Boeheim said. “Very few people give credit to the defensive impact player. And Baye had a tremendous impact on not only what he did, but his physical ability allowed people around him to compete at a high level.”

Before games, Keita was often seen skipping around with his orange Beats headphones on or hugging fans.

Boeheim said Keita was always the first to introduce himself to visiting children at practice. He attends games for other sports throughout the year. And walking down the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center before a workout in late April, he stopped to say hello to SU Athletics officials as well as the janitor. 

A conversation with Assistant Director Academic Support Joe Fields shortly after Fields was hired in January 2011 helped Keita achieve comfort at Syracuse. Fields spoke with him about how to balance his time spent on athletics, academics and social life. Keita said the words resonated with him.

“It wasn’t easy as a freshman, but as soon as I did that, it made me happier, stress free,” Keita said.

Finding that balance has allowed him to almost completely avoid dejection. Only after losses is he upset, and a few hours removed from his phone and social media return him to his normal self.

Keita’s younger brother Bounama Keita, who followed Baye from Senegal and is a freshman center at South Dakota, said that his brother’s personality and accomplishments helped carve a path for him.

“Baye is not only a brother, but also he is a role model too, and it is because of him I started playing basketball,” Bounama Keita said.

For Baye, helping others is the passion that will likely drive him farthest in life. Though he said he’s in the process of hiring an agent and plans to play overseas, he said his ultimate goal is to return to Senegal and give back to the community.

Traveling through Africa for Basketball Without Borders, he saw children both hungry and homeless.

But when he returns, with an expected degree in child and family studies, he’ll be in good position to change that. 

“My ideas keep changing around, but I know I want to open something,” Keita said. “Whether it’s an orphanage, a children’s center, an after school program, it’s going to be something not just for me, but something for the community to use.”

Published on May 8, 2014 at 1:30 am

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1