6'10 Abdoulye Ndiaye JC - Potential Spring Recruit

[MJGHoya]

I don't know much about him, but the HoopScoop is reporting 6'10 Abdoulye Ndiaye, the other twin tower (6'11 Mohamed Kone) from the Senegal on So Idaho's JC powerhouse team, has four official visits scheduled for this spring to Southern Cal, Georgetown, Washington State, and Florida State.

If I come across any information regarding him, I'll post it.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

How much does this guy weigh? We need some big bodies so hopefully his JC years have helped him bulk up.

[SDHoya]

I found an article that listed him as 6'11", 230 as of March 16, 2005. Article says he's weak on offense but says this about his defensive/post game:

"The hardworking sophomore who hails from Senegal cleans the glass, swats balls and has been known to toss in occasional turnarounds."

That might be the kind of piece player that can put us over the hump next year.

[bowmansbruzers]

Yeah he sounds like a perfect fit for us. Because, we really do not need an offensive person coming in next year. We have BB, Jeff, Ashanti, DJ?, and hopefully Thorton. We just need a big bruiser inside who can get those rebounds and put fear into some of the opponents. Also, if we need the offense, I think we can try to turn him into a pretty good offensive player. JT3 and his staff will do the job with him just like they are doing on Roy right now.

[SoCalHoya]

Do we need another Jahidi?

[SirSaxa]

SoCalHoya said:

Do we need another Jahidi?

We need another Wesley Wilson, this time with a coach.

[the_way]

SoCalHoya said:

Do we need another Jahidi?

Right now, yes and no. The problem with Jahidi is he was foul prone. Jahidi had skills, but he was foul-prone. Plus, his senior year he had an injury. We need some beef. We need a guy like Jahidi, without the foul-prone trouble, who has some beef and can run the floor, rebound, and defend the paint. In fact, we need 2 more guys like that, and this team would be a force to deal with.

[GIGAFAN99]

SirSaxa said:

We need another Wesley Wilson, this time with a coach.

You know this isn't personally directed at you Sir Saxa, but I cannot believe how many people want to relive Wesley Wilson. Everyone is so enamored with athleticism that it almost trumps all other aspects of a player's game.

A change in coaching would not have changed anything about Wesley's inability to rebound. He couldn't rebound in high school, college, or in NBA camps. That's why he's playing in the Phillipines Midget Rec League averaging 30 and 25.

How am I so confident in this? The guy before Wesley was good enough to play in the NBA for three seasons. The guy across from him was drafted #9 overall. Heck, Lee Scruggs played 1 1/2 seasons and got a shot in the NBDL. All this despite his supposed superior athleticism to all three.

Wesley Wilson is exactly the type of player we don't need, especially in this offense. Wes couldn't pass or rebound. He was only interested in his personal scoring numbers, and he wasn't that great and getting those . Most importantly he was always in the wrong spot on the floor, leading to dumb fouls and putbacks on D and difficult entry passes on offense.

If we get this guy I hope he's a serviceable rebounder and a good backup for Roy, but please no Wesley Wilsons.

[MCIGuy]

Wesley Wilson was one of the most physically gifted big men the Hoyas have ever had.

He had terrific height (height that Zo would have killed for), a strong frame, very good athleticism and coordination, acceptable quickness, good (not great hands), a soft touch and a good post up game. What he did not have was enough toughness or drive. I guess he didn't have either the heart or the commitment. But lets not pretend he was some stiff. He was physically more gifted than Alonzo but Alonzo had 30 times the desire and therefore was about 20 times a player than Wes. Plus Zo had natural defensive instincts that can't be taught. The Hoyas should never turn down any big man who comes close to matching Wes' physical tools. Those guys are rare.

[HoyaFanNY]

more physically gifted than zo? come on mci. i liked wes too, but to compare him to zo in any way other than height is silly. i saw zo in high school and he could run the floor, handle the ball, and shoot the jumper as well as any big man at that time. the insane shot blocking numbers hid his other talents.

[the_way]

HoyaFanNY said:

more physically gifted than zo? come on mci. i liked wes too, but to compare him to zo in any way other than height is silly. i saw zo in high school and he could run the floor, handle the ball, and shoot the jumper as well as any big man at that time. the insane shot blocking numbers hid his other talents.

Yeah really. When MCI was describing Wesley, I had to do a double take. I never saw this all-world type specimen in Wesley Wilson. Mourning was twice the athlete Wesley was. Wesley wasn't Ewing. Wesley wasn't Michael Graham. Wesley wasn't Don Reid or Jahidi White either. For being big men, Don Reid and Jahidi White could run the floor pretty fast. I never saw anything in Wes physically or mental-toughness that gave me the impression he was great. Wes was an average player at 6'10" or 6'11".

[jerseyhoya34]

The point is that Wes had all the physical tools. MCI is not disputing the heart and other things that allow a player to make use of those tools.

If you saw the 4OT game, you might see what MCI meant. Wes' stellar performance in that game was only overshadowed by Mike's. The problem was that Wes could not really replicate it ever again, and I view that as a heart issue, as Wes proved that he had enough to have a 20/10 game against a very good team.

[the_way]

JerseyHoya34 said:

The point is that Wes had all the physical tools. MCI is not disputing the heart and other things that allow a player to make use of those tools.

If you saw the 4OT game, you might see what MCI meant. Wes' stellar performance in that game was only overshadowed by Mike's. The problem was that Wes could not really replicate it ever again, and I view that as a heart issue, as Wes proved that he had enough to have a 20/10 game against a very good team.

One game against Notre Dame doesn't make you an all-world specimen. Wes was an okay big man for our ball club, but lets be real about his talents.

[TrueHoyaBlue]

Just curious, the_way... who in your opinion should we go after as a frontcourt recruit? I ask because you've got plenty negative to say, but I haven't heard you put forth any suggestions yourself, or any positive feedback on recruiting targets, particularly big men.

[the_way]

TrueHoyaBlue said:

Just curious, the_way... who in your opinion should we go after as a frontcourt recruit? I ask because you've got plenty negative to say, but I haven't heard you put forth any suggestions yourself, or any positive feedback on recruiting targets, particularly big men.

Let me tell you something. I don't get excited over what Hoops, Rivals, or any so-called Recruiting gurus say about talent coming out of high school or that are in college. A lot of these evaluations of talent are no better than yours or mine. Certain type of players have success on the court for numerous reasons. I wait to actually watch them play in a college game, and then make my assessments. I remember all the recruiting gurus, newspapers, and websites were saying Rudy Gay was one of the best players in the country and definitely the best player coming out of state of Maryland. I saw Gay and Jeff Green both play in High School and in college,and I knew Jeff was the far superior player. It was evident this year in the Big East.

I give credit where credit is earned, not due, and thats on the basketball court. Wes did not prove himself to be an all-world player or specimen on the basketball court. He was a average big man, not bad but not great. I liked him as a player for G'town Hoya, but I'm not going to sit here and fabricate about talents that he did not display on the basketball court.

[GIGAFAN99]

JerseyHoya34 said:

The point is that Wes had all the physical tools. MCI is not disputing the heart and other things that allow a player to make use of those tools.

If you saw the 4OT game, you might see what MCI meant. Wes' stellar performance in that game was only overshadowed by Mike's. The problem was that Wes could not really replicate it ever again, and I view that as a heart issue, as Wes proved that he had enough to have a 20/10 game against a very good team.

Drew Hall had more boards in the ND game than Wes.

und.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/020902aaa.html

If anything, that's Wes summed up in a classic game. The best he could do was score a lot of points on turnarounds and nice passes from Sweetney and block shots when he used his athleticism to make up for being out of position.

But just 7 boards, ZERO assists (unbelievable), and 3 FTAs typifies our man Wes.

[MCIGuy]

JerseyHoya34 said:

The point is that Wes had all the physical tools. MCI is not disputing the heart and other things that allow a player to make use of those tools.

If you saw the 4OT game, you might see what MCI meant. Wes' stellar performance in that game was only overshadowed by Mike's. The problem was that Wes could not really replicate it ever again, and I view that as a heart issue, as Wes proved that he had enough to have a 20/10 game against a very good team.

Actually I was thinking more of that game against South Carolina and a couple of other games. But at least you see where I'm coming from.

And for all of you who think I'm out to lunch on this no less of an expert than JT himself on his own radio show essentially said many of the same things I wrote. Of course he was more disappointed and dismissive of Wes than I was because he felt Wes never lived up to all of his abilities and never took advantage of those physical gifts.

As for Alonzo's athleticism it was pretty good, not great. Everyone who hs covered the NBA the past ten years would tell you that. Zo played harder than 99.5% of most guys but lets stop acting as if he was Amare-like in terms of athletic ability. Please. Mourning may be my favorite Hoya but I have some objectivity.

[MCIGuy]

GIGAFAN99 said:

Drew Hall had more boards in the ND game than Wes.

und.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/020902aaa.html

If anything, that's Wes summed up in a classic game. The best he could do was score a lot of points on turnarounds and nice passes from Sweetney and block shots when he used his athleticism to make up for being out of position.

Wes scored his points on legitimate post moves and ten foot jumpshots. And what's wrong with having a turnaround jumper? That's the best weapon for a big man to have when trying to play a true post game. Watch the ND game again. Sweetney wasn't feeding him for points. And since you pointed out he wasn't rebounding there was no way Wes was getting points off garbage buckets when Sweets missed.

Also lets not be critical of his lack of assists in that game. Sweets was the only Hoya big man whom I watched he was an above average passer (I'll admit I wasn't watching during the Ewing era). Zo and Deke could go weeks without getting an assist.

[the_way]

MCIGuy said:

Actually I was thinking more of that game against South Carolina and a couple of other games. But at least you see where I'm coming from.

And for all of you who think I'm out to lunch on this no less of an expert than JT himself on his own radio show essentially said many of the same things I wrote. Of course he was more disappointed and dismissive of Wes than I was because he felt Wes never lived up to all of his abilities and never took advantage of those physical gifts.

As for Alonzo's athleticism it was pretty good, not great. Everyone who hs covered the NBA the past ten years would tell you that. Zo played harder than 99.5% of most guys but lets stop acting as if he was Amare-like in terms of athletic ability. Please. Mourning may be my favorite Hoya but I have some objectivity.

Alonzo athelticism was great. It darn sure was better than Wesley's. Amare Stoudamire is not a great athlete and in fact is less than athlete than Zo was. Don't confuse dunking with athleticism when you are 6'10". Antonio McDyess is a great athlete (before injuries). Lebron James is an ahtlete. Alonzo Mourning was an athlete. Allen Iverson is an athlete. Jordan was a great athlete. But they are even better basketball players. Don't confuse being a great player with being a great athlete. You act like Zo was an overachiever. Othella Harrington wasn't a great athlete, but he played hard and gave it all he had, and has been able to sustain his NBA career through hard work. That is an overachiever. Wesley Wilson was not a great athlete, I'm sorry.

[GIGAFAN99]

No he had an occasional turnaround but that was pretty much his only big man skill. That's my issue. There's nothing wrong with him having one, he just has to have more than that.

As for passing, the guy had 35 assists in his career. Mourning and Mutombo both surpassed that number in single seasons. I'm not looking for "above-average" I'm looking for a guy who spotted an open man more than twice a season.