“St. John’s University is a great place that I have had the privilege to call home for the past three years,” said Yakwe, a native of Mali. “I would like to thank our coaching staff and administration for all of their support and for affording me opportunities to experience personal growth on and off the court. This wasn’t an easy decision, but at this time I feel it is best for me.”
Yakwe played in 83 games during his three seasons with the Red Storm. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks playing 18.9 minutes per game over his career in Queens. Yakwe’s 149 blocks rank as the seventh-most on the program’s career swats chart.
“Kassoum will always be part of the St. John’s basketball family and we wish him much success in his future,” said St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin. “We appreciate all of the contributions he made to our basketball program. Kassoum is a wonderful young man with an endearing personality and has a bright future ahead.”
Yakwe earned Big East All-Freshman Team honors in 2015-16 after setting career-highs with 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and a conference best 2.5 blocks per game. As a sophomore, Yakwe averaged 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 rejections starting 31 of 33 appearances. This past season he came off the bench in 23 of 24 games and saw action in 12 Big East contests.
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