Gillispie inks Ngalamulume to add to first Division I class

STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton head coach Billy Gillispie announced the signing of Ranger College forward Heritier “Heri” Ngalamulume to a National Letter of Intent to join Tarleton Men’s Basketball next season.

Ngalamulume, a 6-foot-8 forward from Kinshasa, The Congo, will join the Texans after spending his last two seasons at Ranger College under Gillispie. Ngalamulume was one of the winningest players in Ranger history, going 59-7 with a pair of NTJCAC titles and two trips to the NJCAA Tournament during his two-year career at Ranger, including the NJCAA National Championship game in 2019.

Ngalamulume becomes Gillispie’s third recruit to sign with the Texans, joining former Ranger all-conference teammates Tre Gipson and Shakur Daniel.

“I would first like to thank God for these blessings to play at Tarleton,” said Ngalamulume. “Playing Division I basketball has always been one of my wishes and that is the reason why I came here to the United States. Now I feel that I have the best opportunity to make this wish come true. I thank Tarleton for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to representing you in the WAC. It is still a real pleasure to be coached by Coach G, because he is one of the best coaches in the United States. I can’t emphasize it enough – we are going to put the work in, so count Tarleton among the great universities! We’re going to win, we’re going to win big and we’re going to win soon … Tarleton be ready!”

Ngalamulume played in 49 games with 36 starts in his two seasons for the Rangers. In a guard-heavy lineup as a sophomore, Ngalamulume averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the floor. In his freshman campaign, Ngalamulume posted 1.8 points on 50 percent shooting and 1.6 rebounds. In 49 games, Ngalamulume grabbed 75 rebounds, including 29 offensive boards.

“Heri is a player on the rise,” said Gillispie. “A great athlete with a tremendous body, Heri’s best basketball days are ahead of him. He should make an immediate impact in the WAC because his defense is far superior to other players in his class. I expect him to be one of the most popular people on our campus and do great things for the school.”

Prior to Ranger, Ngalamulume played internationally in Spain. He started his international career with Santo Domingo Tenerife from 2014-15. Ngalamulume spent the next three seasons from 2015-18 playing for Read Madrid C.F. where he was teammates with Dallas Mavericks All-Star Luka Doncic.

In Ngalamulume’s first season with Real Madrid, he was Finals MVP of the Zrenjanin Basketball Cup, Tournament MVP of the Azent Istvan Basketball Cup and an All-Tournament team selection for the Novipiu Eupoe Cup. From 2016-18, Ngalamulume’s Real Madrid team won back-to-back ANGT qualifier tournaments and in 2018, won the Spanish National Championship.

“We are so lucky to have the opportunity to have Heri, Tre, and Shak join our basketball program,” added Gillispie about the three Ranger transfers. “These young men are of high character and are great students who will graduate with a degree from Tarleton. They are also really good basketball players that will make a difference in the WAC. Most importantly, they have the habit of winning at the highest level. All three will represent Tarleton and the city of Stephenville tremendously well.”