St. John's lands Kassoum Yakwe of Our Savior New American
Our Savior New American's Kassoum Yakwe #14 in action against Linden during a high school basketball game on Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, in Kean, NJ. Credit: AP
Less than five months after taking the St. John's head-coaching job, Chris Mullin on Sunday announced the signing of four-star forward Kassoum Yakwe of Our Savior New American in Centereach. Yakwe is the highest-rated of nine recruits signed by Mullin's staff as a consensus top-100 recruit who was rated as high as No. 57 by major recruiting services.
The 6-7 native of Mali averaged 10 points and four rebounds last year at OSNA while playing in the shadow of Cheick Diallo, a top-10 recruit who wound up at Kansas. But on the AAU circuit, Yakwe was named Nike Elite Youth Basketball League defensive player of the year, averaging 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks for the PSA Cardinals.
In five games at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament in July, Yakwe posted 9.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game and shot 67.9 percent from the field.
"We are excited to welcome Kassoum to St. John's University and our basketball program," Mullin said in a statement. "He possesses tremendous athleticism, has good instincts and will be a defensive presence. Kassoum is humble and has an endearing personality, which are important characteristics to team-building."
Yakwe is expected to be eligible for the 2015-16 season.
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
