Scott Drew and Baylor have locked up another big-time wing player.
Tounde Yessoufou, the No. 17-ranked player in the class of 2025, committed to Drew and the Bears live on the 247Sports Channel
An athletic and physically imposing 6-foot-6 wing player who moved to the United States from Benin, Africa at the start of high school, Yessoufou felt an instant connection with the program. So did another important person in his life.
“When I walked into the facility, right when I walked in the door, they all welcomed me with open arms,” Yessoufou told 247Sports. “I looked at my mother and my mother looked at me and told me ‘I have an intuition that this is the place for you.'”
Yessoufou said that Coach Drew and the Baylor coaching staff really stood out to him.
“When we started watching practice the whole coaching staff was different. It was more like a brotherhood,” Yessoufou explained. “I liked the fact that they emphasize God first and I’m a big believer. Coach Drew is an amazing person and really genuine. Not that the coaches at other schools aren’t genuine, but he made me feel like that’s somebody who I want to trust and who I want to be playing for.”
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Speaking with Yessoufou, it’s very clear that he’s highly motivated to reach his goal of the NBA and he doesn’t want anything getting in the way. In that regard, he feels like Waco is a perfect fit for him.
“I don’t want any distractions,” Yessoufou said. “When I saw the whole community there’s not really any distractions to get my mind off of where I want to be and where I want to go. Not that I think distractions are going to affect me, but a big part of who I want to be and who I want to become and pursue my dream of the NBA is shutting out all of the outside noises. I feel like that’s a great atmosphere for me.”
Drew and his staff have a growing reputation for giving their young players freedom. They are working on a string of one-and-done perimeter players. That should reach three this season with celebrated freshman VJ Edgecombe. That level of development and freedom wasn’t lost on Yessoufou, but it wasn’t the only thing that mattered in making his choice.
“It was really important as an incoming freshman to see all of those other freshmen who have gone through that path and got drafted,” Yessoufou told 247Sports. “Not only because they got drafted but because they impacted the game in a good way and were big pieces of the puzzle. Every season they play I can tell that the freshmen who put in the work always shine and play big parts in the program.
“All of (the team) has great chemistry around each other and say positive things. You can tell that they aren’t faking it because it was all really genuine and they were all happy for each other. That’s kind of what made me say, ‘Yeah this is where I want to be.'”
Physically, Yessoufou is ready for the Big 12 today so it’s no stretch to see him making an instant impact next season.
“I think I can make an impact on both ends of the floor. Getting the other team in foul trouble, knocking down some big shots. I know one of the things I need to improve on the most is my playmaking ability and not trying to overdo some tough shots.
“I know they are going to coach me hard and I’m super excited about it. I want to be in a program to shine and play against the best colleges and be on the biggest stages. I’m not scared of the pressure that comes along with it.”
With his commitment, Yessoufou has a lot of pride in how far he’s come since leaving his home country to pursue his dreams. He’s not letting anything get in his way.
“It means a lot,” Yessoufou told 247Sports. “Coming from Africa by myself at 15 years old a lot of people would say it was scary but for me it was about what do I want to do with my life and where will my life go? I took pride in having the responsibility and being an only child and my mom letting me go by myself. That was my first plane trip so it was really exciting.
“All of that adversity has made me who I am today. I saw how my mom sacrificed. So every time I step on the floor it’s about how I need to eat and the opposing team in front of me is trying to stop me and I have to get them out of my way because nothing is going to stop me from eating.”
The first commitment for Baylor from the class of 2025, Yessoufou has a simple message for supporters of the program.
“The big bear is coming to town and Waco is about to be crazy. History sometimes happens again and I want it to happen again there. We won the championship in 2021 and I want to win it in 2025 or 2026 regardless of when I’m there so I’m super excited.”
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