PROVO There s no denying that BYU basketball head coach Mark Pope is an excellent recruiter.
But in arguably the most unique recruiting job of his career trying to convince his three seniors, all transfers, to return to BYU for another season after one impacted by COVID-19 that provided a free year of eligibility from the NCAA. The coach is now 0 for 2.
Matt Haarms officially opted not to return to BYU on Friday, making the announcement himself on social media after several reports and second-hand accounts alluded to it all week. Haarms made the announcement Friday on his Instagram account, a message that was immediately met with, We love you, Matt; go get it, from assistant coach Cody Fueger.
Atiki Ally Atiki officially signs with BYU
The 6-foot-11 center from Tanzania will join the Cougars for the 2021-22 season.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars head coach Mark Pope signals to his team, in basketball action at the Marriott Center in Provo, on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. | Updated: April 17, 2021, 2:10 a.m.
On Friday, BYU coach Mark Pope announced the signing of Atiki Ally Atiki, who had committed to the Cougars two months prior.
Atiki comes to Provo from Ontario, Canada, where the 6-foot-11 center moved to in 2018 to play at the London Basketball Academy, where he was coached by Angelo Provanzano.
BYU basketball officially adds 6-11 Atiki Ally Atiki to its roster
Atiki, who has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, is from Mwanza, Tanzania. He moved to Ontario, Canada, in 2018 to complete high school. He played at the London Basketball Academy.
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The BYU basketball program has officially added another player from Africa to its roster.
Coach Mark Pope announced Friday that 6-foot-11 center Atiki Ally Atiki has signed a scholarship agreement with the Cougars.
“We are incredibly excited to announce Atiki as the newest member of the BYU basketball family,” Pope said in a news release. “Growing up in Tanzania, Atiki will bring to our team a fresh world view and added diversity in our continued pursuit of the best locker room in America. He is humble, hungry and has an overwhelmingly-special work ethic that Cougar Nation will fall in love with. He is a gifted athlete with length, athleticism and touch around the rim. He is sure to become a fan favorite and ha
MOUNT PLEASANT, Sanpete County Fousseyni Traore didn t grow up playing basketball from the time he was a toddler.
With a hefty dose of over-honesty, he admits he didn t like the sport when he was young, even.
The son of a coach who grew up in Bamako, the capital of Mali in West Africa, Traore played soccer all growing up. A center forward by trade, he loved scoring goals.
That s no surprise for Mali, whose national sport is soccer that rose to prominence when the West African country hosted the African Cup of Nations in 2002. Everyone in Bamako played soccer growing up, and Traore was no exception.