Senegal’s Niang to visit for Late Night

By Jim Baker     Oct 9, 2001

Senegal’s Moulaye Niang has come a long way in two short years all the way from West Africa to his new residence of El Cajon, Calif., a suburb 20 miles east of San Diego.

“He was very limited, very limited in his understanding of English when he first came here,” El Cajon Christian High basketball coach Curtis Hofmeister says of Niang, who will make an official recruiting trip to Kansas this weekend for Late Night With Roy Williams.

Late Night With Roy Williams is undergoing a bit of a facelift.There figure to be some changes at Friday’s 14th-annual Late Night With Roy at Allen Fieldhouse.Doors open at 5 p.m. with festivities starting about 10 p.m. A scrimmage will be held at midnight. Admission is free, but fans are encouraged to bring canned goods.”It’s not a secret … but we will not discuss too much beforehand. We have some surprises up our sleeve,” Christopher Dean, KU director of promotions, said.He did confirm there still will be some skits with players and coaches.”The theme is ‘Late Night With Roy Williams,”‘ Dean said, noting no other theme like last year’s ‘Survivor’ would be used.”Late Night is to showcase the personalities of the players and classiness of the program, make it the players’ show. The players have had input in doing things they want to do.”Practices are being held this week in preparation for Friday’s Late Night Show.

“He is a quick study, obviously immersing himself in his studies. He’s now fluent in three languages.”

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound Niang also speaks French, along with the native Senegalese dialect.

Niang, who grew up playing soccer in Senegal, also has grown leaps and bounds in terms of his basketball skills since arriving in California to take part in Christian High’s “English as a second language” program.

Niang averaged 12.5 points and 10 rebounds his junior season, earning MVP honors after a 22-6 season.

“He played some basketball in Senegal, but it’s a little different over there. I don’t know how organized it is,” Hofmeister said. “He has played a lot of soccer. He has really quick feet. Coming over, he had the physical tools. We just needed to refine them. He was certainly ahead defensively of where he was offensively.”

Niang is a defensive force on the high school level.

“He can guard the post, block shots, get off a switch and guard people because he moves his feet so well. He takes pride in his defense,” Hofmeister said.

“He must get stronger physically and become more skilled with the ball.”

Niang has a large upside, his prep coach says.

“He’s pretty good around the basket and getting better around the basket. He’s developed a jump hook that will serve him well,” Hofmeister said. “He scored some on dunks (last season) primarily 10 footers, extending to 15 feet now.

“He’s a great kid, good athlete, has a high ceiling,” Hofmeister added. “He’s still pretty raw offensively. He’s young in terms of basketball experience but has already put in a significant amount of time and effort in terms of strength and skill development.

“The best thing is he wants to learn and get better. He’s somebody pretty teachable. He doesn’t think he knows it all. He has a chance to be pretty good, certainly in college will give him a chance to get stronger and feel for what it’s about.”

Niang he heard from UCLA, Stanford, Oregon State, New Mexico, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Michigan early has narrowed his college choices to Kansas and San Diego State. UConn has tried to get involved the past couple of weeks, but it may be too late.

The Jayhawks have been recruiting Niang since scouting him in a tournament last winter.

“He visited San Diego State last weekend. They are up and coming,” Hofmeister said. “The fact the school is so close geographically it’s helped their coaches see him early and maintain a high interest level.

“I think visiting Kansas for Late Night will be a real eye-opener for Moulaye. I don’t think he even knows what to expect yet. To see that level of fanaticism will be something that I’m sure will make an impression.

“I’m sure in a lot of people’s minds it will be a pretty easy decision for him. (But) you never know what will appeal to a young man. He is very serious about recruiting. He was very impressed at coach Williams’ (in-home) presentation and so was I. Coach Williams did a great job selling the system and what Kansas has to offer. He’s a class guy and so are the people around him.”

Niang would like to sign in the early Nov. 14-21 signing period.

Also visiting for Late Night will be Jeff Graves, 6-9 of Iowa Western Community College. Graves is considering KU, Illinois, Long Beach State, Louisville and Missouri.

PREV POST

KU's Haylock wins

NEXT POST

1645Senegal’s Niang to visit for Late Night