Youssoupha Mbao .. newest Warrior.

[mu_hilltopper]

7'2" center from California, class of 2009

[4everwarriors]

Where's Chicos when you need him? Is this the end of the line from McMorrow?

[Aughnanure]

Hopefully McMorrow is okay and someone else transfers. Having two seven footers would be amazing, but this does make me suspicious.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Something about this doesn't make sense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssoupha_Mbao

Played pro ball in Spain?

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

http://marquette.scout.com/a.z?s=415&p=8&c=1&nid=4104363

Here's his Scout.com profile...

[Daniel]

Wow - what else do we know about this guy?  Is he any good?  Or a total project?  I too hope McMorrow is still with us and that his health is good.  Not much word on him...

[4everwarriors]

 Wonder if they told him it snows here?

[dwaderoy2004]

espn ranks him as the 30th best center in 2009, with an overall grade of 88.  however, most of the written comments aer fairly negative:

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=75562&season=2009

[GOMU1104]

Committed without visiting. Wonder if they told him it snows here?

He committed during his visit.

[LastWarrior]

Committed without visiting. Wonder if they told him it snows here?

According to the Scout article...

According to sources close to the situation, Marquette received a commitment from the 7-foot-2, 215-pound center during his official visit to the Milwaukee (Wisc.) campus.

[LastWarrior]

You can't teach 7'2"!!!!

[Thomas' Danish Delight]

Next Hasheem Thabeet?

[Nukem2]

From Dakar, Senegal as was Ooze.  Now we'll hear Youuze...

[MUfan12]

I hope this doesn't mean Liam is done.

Intriguing project, not sure I'm crazy about it. I'll feel better if he can take the redshirt year that Ousmane desperately needed, but we couldn't afford to give.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Giving the Google a good run here right now on him.

http://californiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=344&tid=122405598&mid=122405598&sid=968&style=2

This post says he had interest from USC, UConn, and Kentucky.

Also said similar in this blog entry:

http://nathanblue.blogspot.com/2008/11/national-prep-showcase-day-three.html

Stoneridge's center Youssoupha Mbao has only been in the United States for around two months but numerous schools are beginning to actively recruit him. According to Coach Sy, Connecticut, Kentucky and USC is the short list, but the list will get longer before it gets shorter.

Plus this tidbit from July 2008.

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2008/07/las-vegas-day-one.html

The French Hoops team is loaded with talent, most of the players coming from Africa. Youssoupha Mbao is a 7-foot-2 center who looked like the best of the bunch. He is ranked No. 10 among international players of his age by Draftexpress.com.

And finally, his Draftexpress profile with some evaluations:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Youssoupha-Mbao-1334/

[Robyrd5]

espn ranks him as the 30th best center in 2009, with an overall grade of 88.  however, most of the written comments aer fairly negative:

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=75562&season=2009

"...his tendency to pout when things do not go his way"

Hope this is the first thing Buzz works on.

[bma725]

Looks like he played in a pro league in Spain and another in Slovenia before coming to the US.  Wonder if there will be any eligibility issues?

[MUfan12]

Looks like he played in a pro league in Spain and another in Slovenia before coming to the US.  Wonder if there will be any eligibility issues?

Could be a big red flag, but you'd have to think the coaching staff would have addressed that.

[77ncaachamps]

From Dakar, Senegal as was Ooze.  Now we'll hear Youuze...

LOL!

However, at 7'2", are you sure they didn't mix his name up? Maybe it's Mboussoupha Yao.

But bma's post does raise some concerns regarding his eligibility.

[downtown85]

Looks like he played in a pro league in Spain and another in Slovenia before coming to the US.  Wonder if there will be any eligibility issues?

If true, he wouldn't be eligible.  However, don't believe everything you read on the internet. 

[Hards Alumni]

GAIN SOME WEIGHT.

[detroitwarrior]

http://marquette.scout.com/a.z?s=415&p=8&c=1&nid=4104363

Here's his Scout.com profile...

According to the profile he is listed as a PG 

[bma725]

If true, he wouldn't be eligible.  However, don't believe everything you read on the internet. 

He wouldn't necessarily be ineligible, he would just not be eligible right away.  Iowa State had it happen last year with Lucca Staiger, he was forced to sit out and lost a year of eligibility.  The NCAA can enforce the penalty even if the player does not receive any money himself as long as someone on his team received over the NCAA limit.

And it's not just internet rumor.  He definitely played for Gran Canaria in the Spanish ACB league, people did scouting reports of watching him play there.  Gran Canaria even had a story about him on their own team website.  The question is how the NCAA will view it.

[DJO's Pump Fake]

GAIN SOME WEIGHT.

Someone take him to Qdoba

[downtown85]

BMA, your confusing him with that other 7'2" Senegalese basketball player called Youssoupha Mbao who happened to play at Gran Canaria.   

I think I remember some Polish player (recruited by Ohio State or some other Ohio team) that was ruled ineligible by the NCAA because he played a year of pro ball in Poland.  It will be interesting to see how the NCAA rules on this.

If the Lucca Staiger situation is the precedent, sitting out a year and beefing up won't be the end of the world.