Ndoye’s quiet effort speaks volumes

By Paul Gotham

ST.BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The opportunity was there for Youssou Ndoye to have an impact on Saturday’s game…a negative one.

Through three games the St. Bonaventure big man had taken just eight shots.

Frustration could have affected judgment.  Granted Ndoye sat out the opener, but since then it has been a steady diet of zone defense designed to keep the ball out of the hands of the Big 4 pre-season player of the year.

“It’s hard to get the ball in against the zone,” said Bona head coach Mark Schmidt.  “That’s why people play the zone. It’s hard to get a big guy going against a 2-3 zone. If you know basketball, that’s why you play 2-3 zone to stop the inside game.”

Rather than force the issue, Ndoye was content Saturday to let the game come to him. The 7-0 center scored eight points on three of four shooting from the floor and two-of-four from the free throw line.

“You can read a lot into someone’s mannerisms,” Schmidt continued. “He was positive the whole time. He was urging his guys on. That’s what you need from a senior leader.”

Ndoye corralled a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked more shots (4) than the entire Canisius squad (3).

“All he cares about is winning. It’s not about him. He didn’t get the ball a lot.”

No single play represented this attitude more than Ndoye’s inside-out pass to teammate Marcus Posley with 1:36 remaining in the game. Ndoye had the ball on the left block. Bona clinging to a two-point edge. No one would have complained if he tried a drop step to get to the basket for an emphatic dunk. Instead he fed Posley who caught the pass in rhythm, set his feet and drilled a three. The basket gave SBU a 54-49 lead and proved to be the winner.

“Youssou is the ultimate team player. He’s the most unselfish guy we got on our team.”

Ndoye scored four points in Bona’s 73-70 loss to Siena on Wednesday. He averaged 10.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg.

“If he gets eight and 12 every game, that won’t be bad,” Schmidt said.

Ndoye was suspended from Bona’s opener against Dartmouth for playing in an unsanctioned summer league game.