NEWARK — Bourama Sidibe has only been in the United States for two and a half years since leaving his native Mali.
But at 6-foot-10 and 215-pounds, he is adjusting to life at one of the top prep basketball powers in America. St. Benedict’s Prep is the same school that produced NBA players J.R. Smith and Tyler Ennis, and also features current Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe.
In one recent scrimmage, Sidibe went for 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks.
“Bourama is a special player,” Gray Bees coach Mark Taylor said Monday. “He is super long and athletic for a big man with tremendous instincts and timing. He is a game-changer and a difference maker. He’s the best big man I have coached and that includes [former NBA lottery pick] Andrew Bynum. Bourama has a much bigger upside.”
Said junior guard Matt Cotton: “He’s a great player. I can get it to him anytime. He’s very agile in the post, aggressive, great defender.”
Numerous coaches have been through the Newark school in recent weeks to see Sidibe, but for now he has three official visits planned: to Texas Tech this weekend, Oklahoma State the weekend of Oct. 28 and Syracuse the weekend of Nov. 11.
Sidibe doesn’t know much about the schools and is looking forward to learning more on the visits.
As for Texas Tech, he said, “I’ve been talking to them for a while this last year and I really don’t know a lot of things about Texas so I’m trying to get down there and see what it is.”
Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood — who was recently in Newark speaking at the Brayden Carr Clinic — has been through St. Benedict’s several times to see Sidibe.
“He was here last week,” Sidibe said.
“When I was at Kansas State, we recruited up here a great deal,” Underwood told me recently, speaking generally. “[Assistant] Mike Boynton is a Brooklyn native so this becomes an area that we’re going to recruit outside our region and an area that we feel very confident that being in the Big 12 we can bring kids to.”
Syracuse, meantime, offered Sidibe last May.
“I know some of the guys from Mark [Taylor], they played at Syracuse,” Sidibe said, referring to Ennis, who was one-and-done with the Orange. “I’m going to go see if it’s the best spot for me. Tyler Ennis has been there. Basically we play the same way, so I’m trying to see if it’s good for me or not.”
Ironically, St. Benedict’s was working on some zone defense on Monday, which might come in handy at Syracuse.
Sidibe mentioned SMU, Seton Hall, VCU and Maryland as other schools involved.
As for Seton Hall, he said, “I’ve taken some unofficial visits to Seton Hall but I haven’t visited them official yet. I like them a lot because they’re really cool with their players. Any time I have chance I go down there to see how theyr’e doing.”
SMU has also “been here a lot since last year, so we gotta make the date [to visit].”
As for when he might decide, Sidibe said, “Now I don’t know. I was trying to make in November, but now it might be in April, I don’t know. To try to see some of the games if I will fit their system.”
COTTON TURNING HEADS
Matt Cotton, a 6-5 shooting guard from Voorhees, N.J., transferred to St. Benedict’s this season from Academy of the New Church in Philadelphia and has already gained a lot of notoriety.
“I was trying to play on a bigger stage and play with more intensity, and I know St. Benedict’s history,” he said.
Cotton already holds offers from Seton Hall, VCU, Oklahoma State, St. Joe’s, Hartford, La Salle, Temple and NJIT, among others.
He recently visited Seton Hall and St. Joe’s and will visit UConn Oct. 29.
“I love [Seton Hall], it’s a great school,” he said. “The coaches love their players, they build great relationships with them.”
At UConn, assistant Dwayne Killings is recruiting Cotton and saying “it would be a great school for me.”
St. Joe’s is also in the mix.
“I love coach [Phil] Martelli, coach [Geoff] Arnold, I love the whole coaching staff there,” he said.
(AP Photo | Gregory Payan)
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