St. John’s Graduate Transfer Kassoum Yakwe Commits to UConn Men’s Basketball

Dan Hurley appears to have his roster set for his first season at UConn as St. John’s grad transfer Kassoum Yakwe committed to the Huskies, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Slater. Yakwe is the third player to commit in the past few days, joining 2018 guard Brendan Adams and Duquesne grad transfer Tarin Smith. All three made an official visit to UConn over this past weekend.

A 6-foot-8 forward, Yakwe led the Big East in blocked shots as a freshman and was second as a sophomore. However, his minutes fell every season from 23.4 per game his first season to just 11.8 per game last year as a junior. Still, Yakwe should provide rim protection that the Huskies’ lacked after the departure of Amida Brimah.

Yakwe has never averaged more than 7.1 points per game, but he is a solid rebounder, averaging between 5.3, 3.2 and 2.1 rebounds per game in his three seasons in with the Red Storm. He will likely be competing for backup minutes in the ‘3’ or ‘4’ role with Isaiah Whaley, Tyler Polley, Eric Cobb, Mamadou Diarra and Kwintin Williams.

With all 13 scholarships filled and no more departures expected, fingers crossed, Hurley and his staff can fully shift their focus to the class of 2019, where they will have four scholarships at their disposal. UConn coaches will reportedly watch Akok Akok, Kofi Cockburn, Jaden Delaire, and Max Lorca-Lloyd today.

Here’s a look at the Huskies’ scholarship situation moving forward: