While attending Owens Elementary, Nathan Kongolo became curious about basketball after his school partnered with Heads Up Houston, which ran basketball games and several other after-school activities. This program was Kongolo’s first introduction to the sport and served as the springboard to his student-athlete journey.
Coach Kevin Kebede founded Heads Up Houston, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of youth through education, sports and mentoring.
“My background is community development; I worked for the YMCA for 16 years, where I was the executive director of the Alief and Fort Bend YMCA. I saw a need and wanted to continue the work in the Alief Community, so I started with intramural sports, after-school programs, and summer camps in 2016,” said Kebede.
The program has inspired many, including Kongolo.
“I was in the 5th grade when I first picked up a basketball,” said Kongolo. “If it wasn’t for Coach Kevin Kebede and Heads Up Houston, I wouldn’t be where I am today. He’s a great person who really kept me focused on life, school and basketball. I used to misbehave when I was younger, but basketball has since kept me out of trouble.”
Even though Kongolo was new to the sport, playing basketball in the Heads Up Houston program boosted his confidence.
“The more I played, the more I saw my skills improve. My first time trying out for a team was in the 7th grade when I attended Holub Middle School. I was nervous, but I applied those concepts I learned and I made the ‘A’ team; that accomplishment felt good.”
This confidence and community support propelled Kongolo to continue furthering his craft on the court.
“Coach Tony Edwards was the after-school director in Alief; he’s the reason I initially became familiar with coach Kevin Kebede and Heads Up Houston,” said Kongolo. “Once he began his AAU team, the Urban Kings, I began playing with them during my 7th grade year. I began playing with both the Urban Kings and Heads Up Houston simultaneously until my 10th-grade year.”
Nathan Kongolo
IG: @nate.k__
Twitter: @NateK__
Position: Guard
Height & weight: 6-feet-5, 175 pounds
Players he studies: Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks), Robert Dillingham (The University of Kentucky)
Favorite artist: NoCap
Status: Committed to the University of St. Thomas
Favorite subject: Algebra
Shout-outs: God, Coach Rich, Coach Kevin, JB, Deshawn and everyone who supported me.
The confidence Kongolo built showed on the court. During his freshman year at Alief Taylor, he played in only three junior varsity games before being moved to the varsity level. While on varsity, Kongolo won second-team all-district honors in his sophomore year and first-team all-district honors in both his junior and senior years. He became the third in Alief Taylor history to reach 1,000 career points. Moreover, Kongolo won Offensive Player of the Year and Scholar-athlete of the Month while becoming Taylor’s first team captain for three consecutive years.
Kongolo became one of the top-rated guards in Alief and was selected to play in the Houston Area Basketball Coaches Association (HABCA) All-Star game on May 19 at the University of St. Thomas.
“Those achievements felt amazing, especially when I was nominated to play in the HABCA All-Star game. Playing in that game was great. There was a lot of talent that I got to see and match up with,” said Kongolo.
To improve his game, Kongolo continuously studies the game of NBA all-star Kyrie Irving and University of Kentucky stand-out Robert Dillingham.
“Kyrie Irving has always been my favorite player to watch growing up. I like his ball handling, playmaking and ability to score. I also like Rob Dillingham because he’s similar to Kyrie with his shot creating and playmaking. He was my favorite high school player growing up,” said Kongolo.
Kongolo feels his shooting needs to improve if he wants to continue playing basketball at a high level. In the off-season, he works with coach De’Shawn Robinson to instill consistency in his jump shot.
“In the gym, I shoot around 400 to 500 shots during our sessions,” said Kongolo. “Basketball helped me mature. I was a skilled player before I picked up the ball, but I was never the best player in my grade, so I dedicated myself to getting better, and here I am today, the top kid in Alief.”
Next season, Kongolo will attend the University of St. Thomas and study engineering. He credits the coaching staff, the close proximity to home, and the culture created by head basketball coach Anthony Medina with impacting his decision.
While continuously working on his game, Kongolo still finds time to come back and work with the youth in the program where it all started.
“I come back and help Coach Kevin with the kids in the Heads Up Houston program because they are the future and I feel like it would be selfish if I didn’t give back,” said Kongolo. “I see some of them struggling with the same issues I struggled with growing up: confidence and distractions. Alief has a lot of negative distractions. You can easily get influenced into doing the wrong thing. So, having the right people around you is important because you are who you hang around.”
