By JACOB POLACHECK
Class of 2025 four-star forward Tounde Yessoufou wants to prove that he’s among the best in his class and he’s starting to do that.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound small forward from St. Joseph (CA) and the Team WhyNot AAU Program, excelled on the Nike EYBL Circuit this summer and has continued that success into the fall, garnering a No. 15 overall spot in On3’s consensus class of 2025 rankings.
“It’s been really good at least to get noticed by people, but I will never be satisfied,” Yessoufou told ZAGSBLOG by phone. “My goal is not to be No. 15 or No. 5. I want to be No. 1. Even though I know I shouldn’t be No. 15, it’s still amazing and I’m happy to see that people recognize me and all that kind of stuff.”
It’s not only the media that’s caught onto Yessoufou’s increasing development, but college coaches as well, picking up recent offers from UCLA and Washington State. He broke down both schools:
UCLA: “The UCLA program is amazing. I’m not going to lie. That was one of my top dream schools. When I first came here, I convinced myself to work hard to show them what I could do and get that offer. Now that I got it, I want to show all of the college coaches that I can do more than that. I love the program, the way they’ve been working hard and their intensity. They have some really good players and I’ve even heard that they are ranked No. 11 in the nation. That’s amazing, man.”
Washington State: “I really don’t know that much, but I know they had Klay Thompson and a lot of good NBA players have played there. If Klay Thompson played there, it means they’re a good program and they have some amazing college players. I’ve been watching [Mouhamed Gueye] on Instagram and I’ve seen that he’s been playing really well.”
Yessoufou is yet to take any visits, but said that he will likely start going on trips during his junior year.
“My first priority has always been playing against the top-five in the nation,” he said. “Good competition always teaches me stuff. It doesn’t matter if I play good or bad. I know that’s something that I want. I love competition and playing against the best players.”
Heading into his sophomore season, Yessoufou said he is looking to improve his jump shot.
“I’m working hard on that,” he said. “I’m running on the court, playing hard with intensity and everything. It’s going pretty well. As you can see in the media, it’s been awesome right now.”
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