Ousmane N’Diaye is a 7-footer with special skills, including 3-point shooting range, that Mark Pope likes.
When asked about the best shooters on this year’s Kentucky basketball team, freshman guard Zyon Hawthorne immediately mentioned Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic — the nation’s leading 3-point shooter last season. He also noted that any time junior Trent Noah shoots, “I’m thinking it is going in” from what he has seen in practice (junior Kam Williams is injured and not practicing).
However, he also mentioned 7-foot, 210-pound Ousmane N’Diaye of Dakar, Senegal who has played in Germany, Italy and Spain.
“Ouzi can shoot very, very well,” Hawthorne said. “He’s going to be a very good all-around guy for us. He can rebound. He’s a defender. He’s very long. Something that coach (Mark) Pope says all the time is length is our strength. So he can shoot. He can defend. He can rebound. So he is an all-around player and I think he will surprise a lot of people.”
Pope is glad N’Diaye has been on campus all summer with his teammates and has shown “where he can be great for us” during six weeks of practice as well as “some of the places where he needs to make massive progress” to be great.
“It’s also just been good for him to be with the team, to be around our guys, and he actually has a tremendous personality. He’s pretty quiet until he’s not, and when he’s not, he’s not right,” Pope said.
“We were actually at a recruiting dinner. I was sitting at the table, and we started talking about football or soccer depending on what country, what you call it, and the passion that came out of him was beautiful.
“He is actually a pretty special kid. He’s got a chance to be an elite level player. He has a lot of work he has to do to get there, but he has some skill sets that are special.”
Guard Alex Wilkins said N’Diaye has been one of the biggest surprises on the team to him.
“He has been making jumps every day. I mean, he’s one of the toughest people on the team to post on. He’s tough on all of us,” Wilkins said. “He’s doesn’t do a lot of talking. He’s like a sword. He can do everything. He can make a catch and shoot shot. He can make a setback shot. He can make an off the dribble shot, a mid range shot, a hook shot. Then he can bang down low and get a rebound.
“That guy is special and he’s gonna be really special for us this season.”
One Response
If Wilkins is being real about N'diaye, maybe Pope doesn't need to worry about Mark Mitchell. The Kohler kid might fill a bigger need given how injury plagued Kepnang has been. I think people are going to be pleased with Wilkins play and McBride will also be a nice surprise. Pope needs to run the offense through Moreno down on the low block where he can thrive. Will Momcilovic continue his hot shooting? Will Noah get the chance to show that he can fill it up from deep? Everyone says Braydon Hawthorne can do everything and Mason Williams is showing that he will be an asset at the point should Diallo not be able to deliver. It's hard not to be excited about the team, but it will still be coached by Pope. Will Pope be able to guide this team to a Final 4 or will they crash and burn like they did last year? That remains the biggest unanswered question for this season.
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