![\"Muji](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/F525KHK2FK67YAKPS3ZCFSCVCY.jpg\")
Muji Vader (left) averaged 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Minuteman girls’ basketball team as a junior. Matthew J. Lee\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n\u201cHer consistent willingness to learn and lead can only be found in success-bound players who are destined for greatness,\u201d said Gillespie, who played professionally overseas for 17 years after starring at Texas-El Paso. \u201cAs a coach, when you come across a player like Muji, you\u2019re easily reminded why we love this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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As much as she\u2019s accomplished on the court, Vader is also a catalyst off it, using basketball as a vehicle for change. She and her brother, Joey, captain of the boys\u2019 basketball team at Minuteman, founded a non-profit service organization called \u201cThe Assist\u201d that spearheads basketball-related service projects around the world. <\/p>\n
She also holds Swiss citizenship through her father, Dave, who was born and raised in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
We chatted with Vader to learn more about her latest experiences and why they mean so much personally.<\/p>\n
Muji Vader (left) averaged 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Minuteman girls’ basketball team as a junior. Matthew J. Lee\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
How did you decide to found a service organization with your brother? What kind of work does \u201cThe Assist\u201d do? <\/p>\n
The idea was there. We had been doing so much work with basketball already, and it just seemed like the right thing to do. We try to do work through basketball, since we both love basketball so much. <\/p>\n
We thought, \u2018Why not try to give back with basketball?\u2019 We try to put up nets at courts, provide new basketballs, and clean up courts. We volunteer at clinics and camps whenever we can. It\u2019s been super amazing experiences, and we\u2019re super lucky to be involved.<\/p>\n
How did your childhood prepare you for what you\u2019re doing now?<\/p>\n
Growing up, I didn\u2019t really have a lot. My brother and I both lived in an orphanage until 2016. I was 9 and he was 8. We didn\u2019t have a lot of opportunities. A lot of kids have potential, but they don\u2019t have opportunities. You don\u2019t really have a chance to prove what you can do. <\/p>\n
I think me being adopted really set me up for everything that I do now. Having that mentality of not having a lot, and knowing how that feels, I wanted to give back to people who have less than me. I knew how that feeling was. I want to use basketball to give other kids opportunities. Sports can open a lot of doors.<\/p>\n
You and your brother recently coached at a clinic in Jamaica. What was that like and why did it mean so much to you?<\/p>\n
The experience in Jamaica was amazing. The Philadelphia Men\u2019s Basketball League, the organization that started this Treasure Beach camp 11 years ago, they\u2019ve done a lot of work, and they\u2019ve touched so many hearts. It was amazing being a part of it. This was our first year going, and I definitely look forward to going again. You can see how much they\u2019ve changed the kids\u2019 lives. It was incredible. <\/p>\n
![\"Muji](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FBMWDX6CSBE6ZCDTKQWR6KSJE4.jpeg\")
Muji Vader loves using basketball as a platform to change lives.Courtesy photo<\/p>\n
What was your experience like in Switzerland trying out for the national U20 team?<\/p>\n
It was a really cool experience. At first, I was kind of nervous, because I didn\u2019t really know anyone, and it was my first time meeting the coach. I was kind of shy. Once I got out of that zone, it was super fun and exciting. We did a bunch of drills and workouts, 3-on-3s, 5-on-5s, full-court games. I\u2019m super grateful for the opportunity. I can\u2019t wait to go back to Switzerland and do that again this following year, play for club teams, and then hopefully travel and play for the national team. <\/p>\n
What has your time training with Gillespie been like, and how has he taken your game to the next level? <\/p>\n
Working with Coach Antoine is incredible. He believes in me 100 percent, which is really encouraging. Ball Academy is Europe\u2019s first athletic prep school, and I\u2019m the first American to be recruited. That\u2019s been amazing. The first time I worked out with him, it was a three-hour training session, and I could see the results right away. He\u2019s more passionate about the game than anyone I\u2019ve ever met. <\/p>\n
How will playing in Switzerland next year during a gap year prepare you for college?<\/p>\n
The whole point of going to Switzerland is to prepare me for college and develop my game. I\u2019ve already seen the results of his coaching. Next year, I\u2019ll be traveling back and forth and training with Ball Academy in Geneva. After I graduate in spring, I\u2019ll do a gap year and play for the Swiss National Team and play for a club team in Switzerland. I\u2019ll be starting college in fall of 2027. It gives me more time to develop my game and bring it to the next level. I\u2019m super excited about that. <\/p>\n
How much pride do you take in giving people around the world an opportunity to play basketball? <\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing to be able to take something that I\u2019m passionate about, and something that changed my life, and use it as an instrument to put smiles on other people\u2019s faces. That means more than the game itself to me. Switzerland will give me more opportunities to do service through basketball. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m actually an ambassador of Ball Academy\u2019s Sport Diplomacy Program, because that\u2019s where all the big humanitarian organizations are based \u2014 the FIBA Foundation, the Olympic Committee, YMCA, and UNHCR, which does all kinds of work with refugees. I already have plans to do clinics in Kenya and maybe Tunisia working with Antoine. That will be exciting.<\/p>\n
![\"Minuteman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/F7AYDHGSIJESVCYRR533O6MN7I.jpeg\")
Minuteman senior Muji Vader takes a shot at the 11th PMBL Treasure Beach camp in Jamaica earlier this month.COURTESY<\/p>\n
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on X @TrevorHass<\/a>.<\/p>\n