How one teen’s dream of playing basketball in the U.S. helped him find a second family

Pittsburgh — At the diner he owns outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, David McComb is the decider. No sugarcoating is necessary, and there is no getting grilled for the decisions he makes.

But in a marriage, as he now knows, you really should consult with your partner.

“Well, when you marry somebody you kind of know how they’re going to react, and know what they’re going to do,” David says.

“No, you have a conversation about it,” his wife Nicole responds.

The backstory to this discussion began about four years ago and an ocean away.

Back in 2021, a young boy from the West African nation of Senegal had dreams of playing basketball in the United States. The boy, Ama Sow, posted highlight videos hoping a private high school in the U.S. would sponsor him. And sure enough, one did.

So, Sow left his family behind and moved to the U.S.

“I would do anything for basketball,” Sow told CBS News.

Unfortunately, not long after Sow arrived in early 2022, the school went out of business, leaving the 15-year-old homeless and penniless with nowhere to go. And that is when a former staff member reached out to an old friend, David.

“I mean, I didn’t think if there was anybody else that could take him in. I just said ‘OK,'” David said.

Never mind that he already had a full house with three kids of his own, David agreed to take in one more without even meeting him. David said he knew his wife would come around, which she did, almost immediately.

“Ama has never seen a dishwasher,” Susan said. “He’d never taken a hot shower until he came to America. So, it grounded everybody.”

Sow, now a senior, attends a local public high school, Montour High, where his basketball dreams are coming true. Next year he’ll play NCAA Division 1 basketball for the University of Tennessee at Martin.

But he says the bigger blessing is the second family he scored.

“A family is going to be there forever,” Sow said. “They’re going to love you forever. They’re going to help you forever…That’s what I have here, I think.”

Nicole says he definitely has that here.

“I love him. He’s part of our family.” 

Steve Hartman

Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”