Century Duo Headed Up I-5
Teammates the past four years at Century, the bond will continue at the college level for Islam Mzaffarov and Jessley Bukeyeneza. The Century senior guards were announced as signees with Highline College in the Seattle/Tacoma area and will be joining a Thunderbird squad that made it to the Final Four of the NWAC Tournament last season. While each approached the recruiting process as separate individuals, in the end the duo were both lured in by what head coach Che Dawson had to offer both of them.
For Muzaffarov, there were many factors that helped put the Thunderbirds on top. "When I was looking at schools, Highline just felt like the right fit from the start," Muzaffarov said. "I really felt wanted by the coach, and the entire coaching staff and everyone I met there were just genuine, great people. They made it clear that they were invested in helping me continue my career and put me in a position to move on to a four-year school after JUCO. When I went on my visit, the campus had this energy that just felt right. It felt like a place I could grow, both on and off the court."
"On top of that, Highline has a strong history of winning and being successful, and they've consistently helped guys get to the next level," Muzaffarov continued. "That really stood out to me and made the decision even easier. And lastly what made everything even better was my high school Coaches, Coach (Scott) Kellar and Coach (Todd) Sherwood who are two people who I very highly respect and have helped me so much in my basketball career. Both knew Coach Dawson and they had only great things to say about him and his program at Highline."
Bukeyeneza cited the ability to move on from Highline as well as a big factor in his decision. "I decided on them because I liked how connected the head coach was with other college coaches," Bukeyeneza said. "I also loved the other group of guys he has on the team and were ready to compete. I liked the school, it sits right on top of a hill overlooking a river and the diversity there is great."
Bukeyeneza and Muzaffarov were arguably the top backcourt in the Pacific Conference last season - in fact, it could be argued that Bukeyeneza (19.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.6 apg) and Muzaffarov (16.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 4.8 apg) might have been statistically the best one-two combo for a single team in all of 6A. They hope to continue doing the damage at the college level - something they didn't really think would happen going into the process but they are both happy that it will happen.
"Honestly, I wouldn't say it was something we were necessarily trying to do on purpose at first but when Coach Dawson showed strong interest in recruiting both of us, the idea of going to the same school as my four-year varsity teammate started to make a lot of sense," Muzaffarov said. "Me and Jessley have had a lot of success together over the years, and we've built a bond on and off the court, that not a lot of people have, and going to the same school as my best friend sounded like a great plan. So once the opportunity was there, the 'package deal' kind of just made sense, and it became something we were definitely down to do."
Bukeyeneza is looking forward to the future as well. "I think I'll fit in pretty well - they play fast paced, apply pressure on defenses and share the ball and kind of play freely which I feel like fits my playstyle," Bukeyeneza said. " It will be fun for sure (playing with Muzaffarov) because I know how hard he works and it will definitely be good for both of us to push each other to be great."
Our congratulations go to Bukyeneza and Muzaffarov on their decisions.
