Kassoum Yakwe, a 6-7 2016 forward from Our Savior New American, says he may attend prep school next year or reclass to 2015.
“I have all of my courses done in school,” Yakwe told Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune while visiting Iowa State for Monday’s game against Oklahoma.
“It’s good for me to go to college or go to prep school to work on my game. I can go to college and redshirt and make sure I’m going to play or go to prep school. Me and my guardian are making the decision.
“I’m not going back to high school.”
He added that he’s “50/50” on reclassing.
A source close to Yakwe confirmed it’s “possible” he would attend prep school in order to “work on his game.”
The Ames Tribune pointed out that if Yakwe did reclass, it could complicate matters for Iowa State since graduate assistant Tim Mannix worked with the Team Scan AAU program (now the PSA Cardinals) and NCAA rules prohibit schools from recruiting players where such a relationship exists across a two-year window.
The source previously told SNY.tv Yakwe is also planning other visits before the spring.
St. John’s, Syracuse, Iowa State, Villanova and Kansas are working hardest for him.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com saw Yakwe at the recent Our Savior-Linden game and came away impressed by Yakwe’s athleticism.
“He’s a freak athlete,” Givony said. “He guards, he rebounds, he blocks shots. He has an amazing body with a long wingspan. There are not many guys in college with those physical attributes. If he develops a reliable corner 3, he is going to be an NBA player.”
Iowa State is also among those recruiting Yakwe’s teammate, 6-9 2015 forward Cheick Diallo, who was named to the McDonald’s All-American Game.
Kentucky, Kansas, St. John’s and Pitt are also in the mix for Diallo. Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Kansas assistant Norm Roberts have been through recently to see Our Savior.
“We’ve talked about [playing together],” Yakwe told the Ames Tribune of Diallo. “Where he goes, if I can fit in, if it can fit me well too, we could go to the same college.
“We’ve been friends since we were in Africa. He knows how we play together.”
