Senegal's Khadim Rassoul Mboup, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard from NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, committed to the BYU Cougars in the offseason after an injury diverted his path from his birthday twin, Duke's Khaman Maulach.
Born on the same day as Maluach, who committed to the Duke Blue Devils, their trajectories remained in tandem at the NBA Academy in Senegal, both playing in the Elevate program of the Basketball Africa League before being recruited by the university system of USA
Mboup spent three years in the BAL Elevate program, in which the best academy talents in Africa play for professional teams during the course of the season. In this year's NBA Draft, Ulrich Chomche became the first former Elevate player to make it to the league, as he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded to the Toronto Raptors.
Mboup made his BAL debut in April 2022 against Maluach, while playing for Egypt's Zamalek, coached by new BYU assistant coach Will Voigt. Maluach, at the time, represented South Sudanese side Cobra Sport in the BAL.
Both impressed for their respective teams when Zamalek won 80-63, but their trajectories have since partially diverged due to an injury that kept Mboup out of the 2023 season after he was selected by Nigeria's Kwara Falcons.
Mboup told ESPN: “I didn't play that year because I had a thigh contusion. That injury I had last year impacted my career because I dropped a little bit, but everything happens for a reason. I'm trying.” to get back into the rhythm.
“We went to Angola on a trip and I was playing [for the NBA Academy Africa] against Petro de Luanda. “I was driving and the big man was waiting for me and he nudged me in the thigh with his knee.”
Mboup returned to the BAL with AS Douanes of Senegal in 2024, driven by his dream of reaching the NBA.
“Like everyone wants, I also want to get to the league, but we will do it step by step, trying to go to a good university first,” he said before committing to BYU.
Mboup had limited time on the court for Douanes, but his performances for NBA Academy Africa in the Road to BAL qualification demonstrated his quality. Mboup averaged 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in three games in Johannesburg against Kenya Ports Authority, Urunani of Burundi and the hosts Cape Town Tigers.
Voigt was watching, unfazed by Mboup's injury problems, and took the first opportunity he had to bring him in now that the time was right.
Voigt told ESPN: “I was the one who recruited Khadim to BYU after I was hired. He was great as a young player with Zamalek. He stayed defensive and had a quiet confidence that I liked. We stayed in touch throughout over the years, but none of us would have ever expected to meet at BYU.
“Khadim is a strong athlete who plays hard and can defend 1-5. His positional size gives him the opportunity to become a special player. He has a great attitude and is willing to work hard.”
Mboup knows exactly which NBA player to use as his north star as he looks to improve his game. “I really like LeBron James, how he plays, his athleticism; it's more than basketball. I like his style and everything.”
In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, BYU was a No. 6 seed, but lost in the first round to No. 11 seed Duquesne. Head coach Mark Pope subsequently left for Kentucky and was replaced by former Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young.
NCAA Basketball is broadcast on ESPN channels in Africa (DStv 218 and 219, and Starsat 248).
