Following school visits this past week by SMU head coach Larry Brown and UCLA assistant Ed Schilling, 7-foot-4 Jean Marc Christ Koumadje of Montverde (FL) Academy is planning to visit both schools in the near future.
Koumadje will visit SMU Sept. 25-27 and is looking to visit UCLA in October.
Koumadje — whose journey to the U.S. from the African nation of Chad we profiled this summer — has already visited Florida State and is expected to decide between those three schools.
“He’s down to those three,” Koumadje’s mentor, Sulieman Holman, told SNY.tv Saturday. “Those three he’s going to decide from.
“I know FSU is way ahead, but SMU came out. Larry Brown came out. UCLA is working hard, I know Christ likes UCLA as well.
“But he likes Coach [Leonard] Hamilton a lot and Florida State.”
Holman visited FSU when Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon did, and both of those guards ended up committing, which Koumadje finds appealing.
“He is seeking a school that will put him in position to go to the NBA, a school that has a legitimate big man coach to help develop him and a school with exposure on the national stage, a school that will be in the NCAA Tournament regularly,” Holman recently said.
Montverde coach Kevin Boyle, who coached current Kentucky big man Dakari Johnson at St. Patrick in Elizabeth, N.J., believes Koumadje can get a lot better.
“He’s only started playing a couple years ago, so he hasn’t played long but he’s a great athlete in terms of his ability to run and catch the ball,” Boyle said. “He’s very fast, can run the court, has good hands. He just has to get a lower base, a lower center of gravity. He also has a nice righty-lefty jump hook, but he’s not yet able to establish position at 220 pounds. He’s gained weight, so I think in a couple years when he gains weight and gets his center of gravity lower, I think he’s got a big upside.
“He’s working out with Doral [Moore], who’s a potential NBA first-round pick, and Christ really makes him work and change his shot at 7-4. And he’s starting to stay without fouling. Last year he couldn’t getting in the game. This year he will get a lot of game time and probably in two years, he’s a major factor in college basketball.”
Photo: Corey Evans
