Top-Ranked Center Moustapha Thiam Reclasses to Join UCF Men's Hoops in 2024-25

-

 ORLANDO – The UCF men’s basketball team has signed its highest-rated recruit in program history, adding Moustapha Thiam to the 2024-25 roster, head coach Johnny Dawkins. Thaim was the top-ranked center in the class of 2025 before reclassifying to join the Knights for the upcoming season.

"We're excited to have Moustapha join our team this year. The timing is great. He will be wonderful in the community and our UCF family. His defensive and offensive versatility will be a great addition to our frontcourt. He's been improving at a fast pace and we are looking forward to helping him maximize his potential." – Johnny Dawkins, UCF Men’s Basketball Head Coach

The 7-2 center is a five-star recruit, the first in program history, with a .9943 composite ranking according to 247Sports. He was ranked as the No. 1 center in his class and the No. 14 overall recruit before reclassifying. Thiam was originally slated to join UCF for the 2025-26 campaign before his reclassification. He cracked into ESPN’s top 100 over the summer of 2023.

Thiam just recently wrapped up his time at 3-Stripes Select Basketball this summer where he averaged 15.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game, while shooting 60% from the floor. He earned defensive MVP for his efforts over the 10-game schedule.

Thiam attended DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, after arriving in the United States from Dakar, Senegal.

In his final season at DME Academy, Thiam averaged 14.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 2.3 assists per contest. He helped his squad reach the semifinals of the Grind Session tournament.

Thiam is the sixth newcomer officially signed to the 2024-25 squad. He is joined by Keyshawn Hall who can play as either a guard or forward and averaged north of 16.5 points per game last season. Rokas Jocius, JJ Taylor and Benny Williams join Thiam as forwards. Cameron Simpson, a fellow freshman, will join the Knights as a guard ahead of UCF’s second season in the Big 12 Conference

Popular posts from this blog

ReliaQuest Bowl Goes to LSU Tigers over Wisconsin Badgers, 35-31

-
Image
(Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) - Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU is confident he's capable of thriving as Jayden Daniels' successor. The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) launched the team's post-Daniels era with a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, with a calm Nussmeier leading a 98-yard drive to produce the winning touchdown in the closing minutes. "You do what you have to do to win the football game. It doesn't matter if you start from the 1, the 2 ... you just stick to the process play-by-play, move the chains, move the chains and put the ball in the end zone," the third-year sophomore said. "That doesn't just speak to me, it speaks to our entire group," Nussmeier added. "You can't do it by yourself. And to go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more." Stepping in to make his f...
Read more

Golf: Remembering Kathy Whitworth, the Game’s Greatest Winner

-
Image
  The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth yesterday. Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off. In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life. Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world.” – LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (From the LPGA) By Ron Sirak The dining room at Trophy Club Country Club near Flower Mound, Texas, gazes upon the rolling hills and old oak trees through which two courses meander, one named for the club’s most famous member, Kathy Whitworth, the other the lone design by the icon of Texas golf, Ben Hogan. Inside the dining room the wall opposite the windows appears at fi...
Read more

Orlando City SC to Face Cavalry FC in Round One of 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup

-
ORLANDO – Orlando City SC is set to take on Canadian-side Cavalry FC in Round One of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Specific match details, including ticket information, will be announced at a later date.   Orlando City was drawn into position A8 from Pot 1, being placed into Pot 1 by virtue of the Club’s standing in the Concacaf Club Rankings, with Cavalry FC being drawn into position B8 from Pot 2.   The 59th edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup, the region's premier men's club competition, will be played between February and June 2024. The annual tournament, comprised of five direct elimination rounds and the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, crowns the Confederation's club champion and is the sole qualification route for the region's clubs to the new and expanded FIFA Club World Cup. The competition's first four rounds (Round One, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals), all include home and away play, while the Final is p...
Read more