Mbao, 7-2 center, to visit
Green Bay -- Youssoupha Mbao, a 7-foot-2, 215-pound center from Stoneridge Prep in Tarzana, Calif., is scheduled to begin an official visit to MU later this evening.
Indications are that he will commit to join the Golden Eagles' 2009-'10 recruiting class during the visit, but there still is some legwork that needs to be done before anything is finalized.
Mbao, like former MU big man Ousmane Barro, is a native of Dakar, Senegal. Based on physical attributes alone, he could be expected to bring a dimension as a shot blocker that the Golden Eagles haven't had in many seasons.
Should Mbao indeed commit, there likely would be some eligibility issues with which MU would have to deal because of his status as a foreign student, as well as his basketball history prior to coming to Stoneridge Prep.
An internet search listed Mbao as having played on at least one professional team overseas. That doesn't mean Mbao was paid, but even playing on a team with other players who were paid has affected the eligibility of Division I recruits in previous years.
MU, of course, already has a six-man class signed, and would need to make a roster move at some point to account for Mbao assuming he commits. The status of 7-foot redshirt center Liam McMorrow, who is dealing with some unspecified health issues, is yet to be determined.
The late signing period is currently underway, and runs through May 20.
I apologize for the brevity of this report, and lack of updates over the past few days, but I've been entrenched in the media auditorium at Lambeau Field all weekend helping with the Journal Sentinel's coverage of the Green Bay Packers' draft.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/43744972.html
Quote from: ToddRosiakSays on April 26, 2009, 05:15:03 PM
An internet search
Looks like Todd knows just as much as all of us
A bit of a defense of Rosiak on this. Rosiak was not beaten on this story. He probably knew about this sometime ago. My guess is Mark Miller, Dodds and Ganzer have also been sitting on this for awhile. (they had the name and background and were on the honor system) Evan Daniels of Scout jumped the story a little ahead of what Buzz would have liked. I think Coach Williams would have preferred a fait accompli with everything wrapped up neatly.
Oh, word word, I didn't mean to knock on Rosiak, but I can see that it seems like I did. Todd's my dude.
I just meant to say that it seems like not everything is sorted out with Mr. Mbao, yet. Especially if Todd doesn't even have the complete story.
Mr. Rosiak is like the main dude I go to for MU basketball updates.
The Milwaukee JS staff is on a fullcourt press with the NFL Draft. It's an all hands on deck situation for everyone on staff. This was a nearly impossible weekend to cover anything else. The only thing you could compare it to is a Packer Super Bowl Weekend. (in terms of demanding staff assignments)