MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (KDKA) - The Montour High School Basketball Team is now 21-1 and looking to win its first WPIAL title, and one shooter on the squad has a pretty remarkable story. 

"I'm from Senegal, West Africa, I came here when I was 14 years old," said Ama Sow the senior guard who came to America just four years ago. "Where I'm from, it's very different. So, it was hard to adapt and adjust to the culture here." 

Sow was one of a few international players who came to Pennsylvania to play for First Love Academy but the school had to close unexpectedly. 

"He was the only one [who] didn't have anyone in the country," said Montour Basketball Head Coach Bill Minear. 

Minear said that Sow had nowhere to go when the school closed, but then, an assistant coach from First Love reached out to a friend, David McComb, and the family took Sow in. 

"I can't thank them enough for what they did for me," Sow said. "Having someone you don't know, and then they speak a whole other language, have a whole other culture, and then took me in and took care of me like [their] own child, that was special." 

The next three years were a big learning curve for Sow, the McCombs, and the Montour Basketball Team. 

"I speak four languages, so French is kind of close to English," Sow said. 

"I would draw what the play would look like and he would go 'Coach, please explain again,' then I'd draw it again," Minear said. "They'd shake their heads, then he'd go, 'Coach, please explain again,' but he's come a long way with that." 

Now, as a senior, Sow has improved drastically both on and off the court. 

So much so that he's committed to the University of Tennessee at Martin. It's a special commitment as their assistant coach, Selle Hann, also grew up in Senegal. 

"I went there for my first visit, I didn't even think about it, I just said yeah, this is where I'm going because I feel like this is where God led me to go," Sow recalled. 

Not only has Sow become popular on the court, he's pretty popular off the court, as well. 

"When I first came here, I didn't have that," he said. "I didn't have people that really understood me and who I was, it was hard. Now, I'm grateful and thankful." 

"Just to be able to help him and see where he's going, it's pretty cool," Minear said. 

Sow said he will continue to work hard because this is bigger than just him. 

"I have some friends [who] passed away in the ocean trying to come to where I am, on boats and stuff," he said. "There are a lot of people from where I'm from that try to go to other countries by boats and die in the ocean, so that's a big motivation for me to never give up and work as hard as I can so I can make it for them, you know?"