{"id":52563,"date":"2024-05-20T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=52563"},"modified":"2024-05-20T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T23:00:00","slug":"tounde-yessoufous-high-school-coach-when-kentucky-starts-calling-it-definitely-sends-a-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/tounde-yessoufous-high-school-coach-when-kentucky-starts-calling-it-definitely-sends-a-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Tounde Yessoufou\u2019s High School Coach: \u2018When Kentucky Starts Calling, It Definitely Sends a Message\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After this past live period in Indianapolis, it\u2019s fair to say that Tounde Yessoufou<\/a><\/strong> is becoming a top target in 2025 for Kentucky basketball<\/a>. Playing with Team WhyNot, Yessoufou was consistently scouted by UK head coach Mark Pope<\/a><\/strong> and assistant coaches throughout the weekend. <\/p>\n

The four-star small forward from St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA) is the No. 7 small forward and No. 24 overall prospect in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking<\/a>. His recruitment is starting to heat up with official visits coming soon. <\/p>\n

St. Joseph head coach Tom Mott<\/a><\/strong> has coached Yessoufou ever since he arrived from the West African, French-speaking nation of Benin as a high school freshman. His growth as a player has been remarkable to see. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, in his first tournament out here, he probably averaged three points per game,\u201d Mott told KSR+. \u201cThe game was totally different from anything he was used to before. Then, he spent a month or so seeing how American basketball is played. He picks things up so incredibly quickly. You\u2019ll show him a skill or a drill and he\u2019ll have it figured out instantaneously.<\/strong> He\u2019s very adaptable to wherever he is.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kentucky\u2019s Interest is Starting to Ramp Up<\/h2>\n

Kentucky has been interested in Tounde Yessoufou ever since Mark Pope was hired as head coach five weeks ago. UK assistant coach Cody Fueger called Tom Mott about a month ago to express interest in Yessoufou. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor most kids, when Kentucky starts calling, it definitely sends a message to them and others that they\u2019re one of the elite recruits in the country,\u201d Mott said. \u201cI\u2019ve known Cody Fueger for several years. [Tounde] has been waiting for that call.\u201d <\/p>\n

The name recognition of Kentucky basketball extends globally. Despite a lack of college basketball interest in Africa, Mott said Yessoufou knew about UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come over here from Africa, most kids know about the NBA. College basketball isn\u2019t big at all over there,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen he came here, somehow Kentucky was one of the schools he had heard of. He was very happy to start talking with them.\u201d <\/p>\n

There was talk last summer about Yessoufou potentially moving up to the 2024 class. However, it looks like he\u2019s set on 2025 now. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe could go play college basketball right now, but he wants to be 100 percent ready when he gets there,\u201d Mott said. <\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s Ultra-Competitive in Everything He Does\u2019<\/h2>\n

Tounde Yessoufou doesn\u2019t look like your average high schooler. At 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, Yessoufou is currently fourth in the EYBL in points per game at 23.0 and third in rebounds at 7.5 per game.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, he\u2019s got a ton of physical gifts, but there are a ton of guys that have those,\u201d Mott said. \u201cWith his desire to win, he\u2019s ultra-competitive in everything he does, whether it\u2019s on the court or playing other games with guys on the team. He just wants to win. It\u2019s a good quality to have.\u201d <\/p>\n

That desire to win is ramped up to a whole other level when he\u2019s competing against the best of the best. That\u2019s why the EYBL Circuit has fit his game so well. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he plays against other players who are four or five-star guys, he takes it personally and always wants to let them know that he\u2019s the best guy on the court<\/strong>,\u201d Mott said. \u201cHe\u2019s very competitive. He doesn\u2019t want anybody to think they can get one on him.\u201d <\/p>\n

Yessoufou shot nearly 90 percent of his shots as a freshman within 10 feet of the basket, Mott said. That included breaking a backboard with a dunk his freshman year. Since then, he\u2019s worked to develop a perimeter presence. <\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEach year, he\u2019s added a little bit more,\u201d Mott said. \u201cThis past season, he wasn\u2019t shooting 45 percent from three, but he got a lot better. In his senior year, his percent will increase even more as he takes better shots from the perimeter. He\u2019s a worker and he\u2019s going to continue to get better.\u201d <\/p>\n

The next step for Yessoufou will be taking his physical skills and combining them with an ever-sharpening basketball lQ. His playmaking and shot selection are improving, while nobody ever has to question his motor or desire. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s figuring out how to take all his physical skills and translate them into being a really good basketball player, instead of a really good athlete that plays basketball,\u201d Mott said. \u201cHe\u2019s just fine-tuning the stuff and that\u2019s what he\u2019s trying to work on this offseason and going into next year.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The post Tounde Yessoufou\u2019s High School Coach: \u2018When Kentucky Starts Calling, It Definitely Sends a Message\u2019<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After this past live period in Indianapolis, it\u2019s fair to say that Tounde Yessoufou is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52602,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52563\/revisions\/52602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}