Another big man!
Player: Bassala Bagayoko
Height: 6’10”
Weight: 225
Years Remaining: 2?
College: –
Hometown: Bamako, Mali
Recruiting Profiles: N/A
Stats: 3.9 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 0.3 Ast, 0.4 Stl, 2.0 PF, 0.9 TO, 55.7% FG%, 22.2% 3P%, 65.2% FT% in 12.7 minutes/game
Bassala Bagayoko is originally from Mali, but has been playing in Spain for since he was 12, most recently for Bilbao or possibly Zornotza, not totally sure. Bagayoko was apparently injured a couple of years ago tearing his ACL and he’s taken him up until this past year to get completely healthy. The stats don’t pop, but that’s in 12 minutes and Bagayoko is 19 playing with men. You can watch the video for yourself, but Bagayoko is a big man who is really athletic, terrific in the roll situation and will deep defenders honest and be forced to guard the roll which will undoubtedly open up the guards. Bagayoko appears to be able to just go up and over a lot of big men that trail him and he’s got nice touch passing the ball as well. The 3-point shooting percentage isn’t great, but the form appears to be fine. We’ll see on that. I honestly have no idea how many years he has for eligibility purposes, but given that he’s 19, let’s just guess he has a couple and not worry about that right now.
For me, this is a roster that’s going to be able to do some damage, even without JT Toppin. And speaking of Toppin, if he can teach Bagayoko just a few moves around the basket, he’ll be lethal (not that he has to do that).
Eligibility Chart
| Position | Player | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 TEAM | ||||||
| GUARDS | Cruz Davis | (6-3/170) | SR | |||||
| Damarion Dennis | (6-1/166) | JR | ||||||
| Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn | (6-1/185) | SR | ||||||
| Dakari Spear | (6-4/190) | FR | ||||||
| Amari Barrett | (6-4/180) | FR | ||||||
| FORWARDS | JT Toppin | (6-9/225) | SR | |||||
| Marial Akuentok | (6-10/230) | R-SO | ||||||
| Josiah Moseley | (6-8/230) | JR | ||||||
| LaTrell Hoover | (7-0/230) | R-FR | ||||||
| Trey Hall | (6-7/200) | FR | ||||||
| Jamichael Stillwell | (6-8/225) | SR | ||||||
| Darrion Williams | (6-6/225) | SR | ||||||
| Bassala Bagayoko | (6-10/225) | JR | ||||||
| TOTALS | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | |
| GONE | ||||||
| Leon Horner | (6-4/215) | SO | PO | |||||
| Tyeree Bryan | (6-5/220) | SR | GR | |||||
| Donovan Atwell | (6-5/190) | SR | GR | |||||
| Jack Francis | (6-3/185) | SR | GR | |||||
| Nolan Groves | (6-5/200) | FR | PO | |||||
| LeJuan Watts | (6-6/233) | SR | PO | |||||
| Jazz Henderson, Jr. | (5-11/175) | R-SO | PO | |||||
| Christian Anderson, Sr. | (6-1/160) | JR | NBA | |||||
| Jaylen Petty | (6-0/165) | SO | PO | |||||
| Luke Bamgboye | (6-10/200) | JR | PO |
GR = Graduated
PO = Portaling
NBA = Declared for NBA Draft
Transfer Out
Jaylen Petty: UCLA
Nolan Groves: Minnesota
Leon Horner: Jacksonville State
Jazz Henderson, Jr.: Ball State
LeJuan Watts: Washington
Luke Bamgboye: TCU
Transfer In
Cruz Davis: Hofstra
Demarion Dennis: Wyoming
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn: UNLV
Jamichael Stillwell: UCF
Darrion Williams: NC State
Bassala Bagayoko: Bilbao Basket