Thendo was born and raised in South Africa, where he played high school basketball at St. Alban’s College in Pretoria. He then migrated to Canada in 2021 to study at the University of Manitoba. In the fall of 2021, he joined the Bisons Men’s Basketball staff as a manager and has been with the team since. Through that position, he has been able to observe and learn many of the intricacies that come with being a USports basketball player, paired with the deep pool of wisdom and knowledge that spreads throughout the coaching staff and the players. Through that experience, he found a passion for coaching, as he has learned so much with the Bisons that he wants to help as many players as he can see basketball from a more refined lens, as players do at the USports level. Since the summer of 2023, Thendo has been the program lead for the Jr Bisons Basketball program and head coach of the 2007 Jr Bisons Boys Basketball Team. In the fall of 2023, he began his head coaching role at Pembina Trails Collegiate for the varsity boys basketball team, with hopes of helping the newly-opened high school develop a well-principled basketball program for the near future and many years thereafter.
Regarding academic and career aspirations, Thendo is currently in the faculty of science at the University of Manitoba and is planning to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in general sciences. He plans to use that degree to enter the faculty of education at the University of Manitoba, hoping to one day become a high school teacher. Thendo has also been coaching basketball through Mini U’s fall, winter, and summer programs since the fall of 2021, so he believes teaching is right down his alley.
Thendo is honoured to be a part of the 17U Male Provincial team for the summer of 2024 and hopes he is able to help the program in any way, shape, or form!