Babacar Faye

[HATUman]

We got another Western Kentucky Hilltopper on the roster.
BABACAR FAYE
CLASS: Senior
HT/WT: 6′ 8″, 215 lbs
BIRTHPLACE: Saly, Senegal
Only played in 10 games last year.
2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS 15.2 | REB 7.8 | AST 0.7 | FG% 53.7

[Utah#1]

I’m really excited to see what AJ can do with this roster. I think he has like 3 or 4 spots left to fill. Go UTES!!!

[GameForAnyFuss]

Also shot 81% FT.

My dream of having bigs who can shoot free throws is about to come true.

[admiralute]

This team is being strictly built around length, athleticism, and defense. Very strategic. That combination alone will win you games, if even out-talented. I see and like what AJ is doing. Get a few decent to good shooters mixed in and you have a competitive team. Go Utes!

[//r00t4Utes]

It is feeling a lot like a HOU roste, which I guess AJ did say the team as an example of a team he wanted to build.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Amazing someone figured out that tall unathletic players can’t play defense or rebound. Times have changed and you better be athletic to compete.

[chinngiskhaan]

Right now we have athletic players. We need a tall and athletic player to protect the rim. That will be key if we want to play a high-pressure, aggressive defense.

[chinngiskhaan]

I like the athleticism. I’m not sure why you think this team has a lot of length though. Our tallest guy at the moment is 6 ft 9. The Point Guard on last year’s team was 6 ft 8. What we didn’t have last year was athleticism. I’m glad we have that. Now we need a rim protector or two and a shooter or two.

[admiralute]

Length is different than height

[chinngiskhaan]

Yes, height is not a necessary condition of length. What is your point? That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Our team was both taller and longer last year. What we did not have was athleticism.

[chinngiskhaan]

Good pickup

Now we NEED NEED NEED a rim protector (two actually), and at least one more shooter.

[AZUTE]

Houston just played for the national championship and their rotation went
6’1”
6’3”
6’3”
6’4”
6’6”
6’8”
6’8”
6’8”
Notice a pattern???

Their leading shot blocker averaged 1.9 a game. Wanna guess how many Lovering averaged? Here’s a hint it was less.

You should probably let Alex finish the roster before you decide what he needs.

[chinngiskhaan]

I don’t care how tall they are. We need a rim protector. Houston had a rim protector. Nobody said we had a good rim protector last year. Also, I am not and was not complaining about anything AJ has done. I know the roster isn’t complete. What part of saying we need a rim protector suggests I think AJ doesn’t know that?

Maybe read what I say and stick to that instead of assuming I mean things that I didn’t actually say.

[Rick]

I’ve discussed rim-protecting with my sons a little. We do hope for someone with true center size who can protect the rim and be a nice lob threat.

Don’t you think that Dawes could play the role of rim protector? I seem to recall a few moments in the season where he came from the weak side and made some nice blocks. I realize that’s only one aspect. I wonder if Traore has the ability? We don’t know anything about him except that he redshirted after making great impressions on the coaching staff last fall.

Anyway, I do think we need rim protection and I’d love a more traditional point guard; but the roster construction does look promising – filled with positional length and athleticism.

[chinngiskhaan]

We may have a rim protector on the team, but it is hard to say because most of the guys have only had about 15 minutes a game to go off of. Looks like we have two guys that averaged around a block per game over their careers. Either of them could potentially increase that total next year. However, I think if either one is the rim protector, our defense won’t be what it could be if we had someone who was more intimidating down low.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Is Keita considered a rim protector at 6’8”? I would say he is. Long arms and quick jumping ability can be effective rim protectors. Plus be able to guard the perimeter better in pick and roll switches.

[chinngiskhaan]

Yes, he is. Keita is not on this team. I don’t care how tall they are. They can be 10 inches tall. If they average 2 blocks a game, they will be a good rim protector. The height isn’t the point. A tall guy would be nice to have in case that is needed. We just need rim protection, which we do not have much of at the moment (unless these guys just haven’t been given the chance to play that role).

[Rick]

I’m sorry but having a 6’8″ point guard who rarely, if ever used his length to any advantage, and a 7 footer who neither blocks shots, nor makes free throws, is anything to strive for or compared against what Alex is putting together here. Just a dumb, contrarian take.

[chinngiskhaan]

You are calling my take dumb when your take doesn’t even address what I actually said. HILARIOUS! I never said our team was better. I never said I preferred the greater size (vertically anyway) of last year’s team. I never said those players were anything to strive for. Someone said the team was built around length. I pointed out that we had more of that on last year’s team. What we have more of this year is athleticism.

Last season we had 4 guys at 6 ft 10 or taller, and 3 other guys at 6 ft 9 (according to the official Utes roster). That is more length than we currently have on this roster. Is that a bad thing or a good thing? I guess we’ll find out. I never said Lovering was a good rim protector.

I pointed out our team was longer last year, and that the current roster still needs a good rim protector and more shooting. What is so wrong about that?

You people and your straw man arguments. Please try to actually read my post and respond to points I actually attempted to make. I think you will find that I am far less contrarian than you had assumed previously

[Jim Vanderhoof]

You make some great points Chin. Length can have different meanings. To me length is tall, long arms and able to jump quick to out reach the other guy and block shots. Reguardless of height.

[Minnesota Ute]

I think we can all agree that once you clear 6’8, you can be a rim protector but
it doesn’t mean you are, and you can be 7′ and suck.

Last year, if I’m remembering correctly, we were one of the biggest teams in the NCAA. But we just weren’t that good, on offense or defense, or at least not good enough to get to the dance.

While it looks like this roster AJ is building has lots of potential, most of them have a limited data set so we’ll see. Personally, I think if you have good size and athleticism across the line in the front court, you don’t necessarily NEED a rim protector. If you had a choice of 3 guys averaging 1 block per game each, or 1 guy averaging 3 blocks, I’d take the former.

But what every team needs, especially if you hope to make any impact at all, is a PG. Just watch any random NBA playoff game going on currently, guard play is critical! PG with good handles and good decision making, and a guard line that all can fill it up.

Also need a several members of the front court that can stretch the floor.

Hopefully we have all that!

[Author]

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