Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Tshiefu Ngalakulondi and Ndene Gueye have signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at St. Bonaventure University and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2017, Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt announced.
A 6-foot-6 forward, Ngalakulondi is a senior at Proctor Academy in Manchester, N.H., where he plays for coach Gregor Makechnie. Ngalakulondi is the 21st-ranked player in New England as rated by New England Recruiting Report. Last season as a junior, he earned All-New England honors in Class AA after averaging 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Proctor finished 17-13.
As a sophomore in 2014-15, Ngalakulondi averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game.
Ngalakulondi, who was born in the Congo but raised in New Hampshire, played AAU basketball for the D.C. New Hampshire Blue Devils, coached by George Washington alum T.J. Thompson. That club will send two other players to Division I schools next year as well.
“Tshiefu is an explosive athlete, one of the better athletes in the New England prep schools, which is a really good league,” said Schmidt. “He’s an attacker. (Current Bona senior) Denzel Gregg is a good player to compare him to. As his skill level and his jump shot get better, he’ll flourish. He comes from a great family and has had very good coaches … just a high character kid. We’re really, really happy he’s decided to join our program.”
Gueye is a 6-foot-10 sophomore at Kilgore College, a junior college in Longview, Texas, where he plays for coach Brian Hobrecht. Gueye is a native of Senegal who came to the U.S. as part of the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEED) Academy – the same program that former Bonnies all-conference center Youssou Ndoye ’15 attended. Last year at Kilgore, Gueye averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, shooting 54 percent from the field and 69 percent at the free throw line.
Gueye will become the second Kilgore product to play at St. Bonaventure, joining 2013 graduate Chris Johnson. In addition, Gueye is already familiar with New York State. Prior to attending Kilgore, he graduated from Redemption Christian Academy in Troy.
“Ndene is explosive … a shot-blocker and a good rebounder who uses his length and his hands to his advantage,” Schmidt said. “Offensively, he can shoot it to 15, 16 feet. He is a serious, ultra-competitive kid who also has an engaging personality. He reminds me of Youssou (Ndoye) in that way — how serious he is about basketball and his studies. We had the connection with Ndene through the SEED program and Kilgore, and Ndene knows how we’ve developed big men here like Youssou, so those were big factors in his choosing to come here. He has a really high ceiling, and we’re thrilled he’s chosen to come to St. Bonaventure.”
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