(PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS)
Seton Hall Pirates men’s basketball head coach Shaheen Holloway appears to have successfully rounded out his 2022-23 Pirates roster with the addition of Illinois State transfer Abdou Ndiaye, as per his Instagram post on Monday afternoon.
Ndiaye, a native of Loyga, Senegal, arrived in the United States in 2016 after coming up through the SEED Academy. The 6-foot-9 Ndiaye finished second in blocked shots per game in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 2020-21 campaign. He averaged 1.4 points per contest. Ndiaye also logged 23 games during the season that featured eight starts. Ndiaye tallied a career-high 18 points against Greenville on December 2, 2020, by converting 80% of his shots from the floor in 8-of-10 attempts.
His wild card trait comes from distance, as Ndiaye made a whopping 11 triples on the year in 32 total attempts for a 34.4 percent pace and converted 37-of-70 in total from the floor.
Most recently, in 2021-22 for the Senegal native, Ndiaye played 26 games, logged four starts, and grabbed 50 rebounds, averaging two per game. The notable in the statistics chart for the former Redbird is the 18 blocks Ndiaye swatted away in a limited amount of playing time. Against Indiana State on March 3, Ndiaye logged his best game of the season by grabbing six rebounds and logging six points in 30 minutes on the court. He swatted a season-best three shots away in the previous meeting against the Sycamores.
In Seton Hall’s best interests, Holloway looks to have Ndiaye unleash his potential that has been coming off the bench for many games for Illinois State in the previous couple of years. Additionally, this signing will give the Pirates much-needed depth for their frontcourt, which saw the departure of Ike Obiagu.
Before Ndiaye’s collegiate career at The Nation Christian Academy in Saint Lucie West, FL, Ndiaye averaged 27.2 points per game and grabbed 14 boards while swatting four for a double-double a night pace. He then attended The Master’s School in Westchester, NY, where he would average 22 points per game for the lone season in the Empire State.
Ndiaye joins a Pirates front court that will feature former Saint Peters defensive standout KC Ndefo, Alexis Yetna, Tray Jackson, and Tyrese Samuel.
