Moulaye Niang believes someday he will represent Senegal in international basketball competition.

“It’s all up to me. If I say, ‘Yes,’ I’m on the team,” said Niang, Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 220-pound sophomore center, who declined an offer to wear the green, yellow and red uniform of Senegal at last summer’s African Cup near his hometown of Dakar.

“I will play someday when I feel I’m ready. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on what I can do here.”

Niang held his own while practicing and playing pick-up games with members of Senegal’s national team when he was home for a month in the summer.

“I think I am good enough to play on the team now,” said Niang, who grew up playing soccer in the West African country which borders on the Atlantic Ocean.

“They wanted me to go with them to play in the African Cup, but it wasn’t worth it. I’d have had to be in a Boot Camp at practice every day. I decided not to because the reason I was home was to see my family.”

Niang desperately wanted to — heck, he needed to — spend quality time with his mother, brother and five sisters. He was unable to see a second brother, who lives in Italy. Niang’s dad, Sassy, had died in January. Niang returned home the day after the funeral after getting stranded for three days in France because of snow.

In January he was able to spend just two days at home to console his family before returning to KU.

“I love my family so much. We get along so well,” said Niang, the youngest in the family. “I had a really good time back home. When I am home, everything changes. Everything is so different.”

It’s different in that he gets to sample the native cooking of his mom and all his older sisters. It’s one of the reasons he put on 10 pounds in the offseason.

“My mom would be like, ‘The time you are here, every day you decide what you want me to cook,'” Niang said. “Every day I’d decide this — rice, chicken, beef, whatever — and she’d go cook it. I’d go to my sisters, and they’d do the same thing. It was so good, all different varieties.”

After not spending any quality time at home in three years, Niang — who attended high school for two years in San Diego — admits it was a somewhat emotional reunion.

“Here, people are emotional and cry. Back there, people don’t want to show emotion that much. They show they miss you, but not by crying,” Niang said. “There is hugging. No crying, though.”

Another difference between life in the United States and life in Africa is in celebrating birthdays.

“I don’t even know my brothers’ or sisters’ birthday,” Niang said. “I don’t know how old any of them are. Just now some of the younger kids (in Senegal) are starting to celebrate birthdays.”

Niang, who’s majoring in business, said he wasn’t sure whether he’d return to Senegal for good after graduating.

“I like it here a lot,” Niang said. “I love it here. If I make it to the (NBA) league, I could try to become a citizen. I could also go home and live there. I like both places.”

His chances of playing pro ball depend on how much he improves. Niang is vying for playing time at KU with fellow big men Wayne Simien, Jeff Graves and David Padgett.

“I’m really excited,” Niang said. “I think I can earn playing time this year.”

Kansas coach Bill Self says the big man has a lot of potential.

“Moulaye can helps us win games,” Self said. “I want him to be a player that at 6-10 you can put out there and he can defend the low post and run the floor and do things to help the team. He has to get stronger. He has made some strides.”