The 6’10” JUCO power forward will commit on Monday
After a quiet couple of weeks, Pitt target Khadim Sy broke the silence that had fallen over his recruitment by announcing that he had trimmed his list of potential schools from five to three and set his commitment date for Monday. Pitt was among the final three schools, as were Ole Miss and East Carolina. Arkansas and LSU were the two schools cut by the 6’10” power forward.
I am announcing my college decision on Monday night. Between my final 3 pic.twitter.com/uNcc2MwDxI
— khadim sy (@khadimsy1) May 9, 2019
Arkansas was a late entrant in the Sy sweepstakes that joined the fray after Eric Musselman was hired away from Nevada. Given the late start, it was generally regarded as a somewhat surprising inclusion on Sy’s final five. However, LSU appeared to be a serious contender for Sy’s services, as the Tigers just logged a 28-7 season and reached the Sweet 16.
Sy is Pitt’s top target in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and he holds a four-star rating from Rivals. He is also regarded as a top-10 junior college recruit by both 247Sports and JUCORecruiting.com.
During the 2018-19 season at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Florida, Sy averaged 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Prior to that, he played at Virginia Tech, where he redshirted for the 2017-18 season after starting in 28 games as a freshman under former Hokies head coach Buzz Williams. He is also a product of prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, where he averaged 9.7 points, 1.5 blocks and 7.6 rebounds per game.
In the eyes of many, Sy’s decision will make or break Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class, as landing the Senegalese big would infuse the Panthers frontcourt with some much-needed size and skill, while another miss would leave Pitt head coach Jeff Capel with limited options. While Capel did add Karim Coulibaly, he was unable to land Akok Akok, Kofi Cockburn, Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua, Tyrese Samuel and Qudus Wahab despite getting serious consideration from each recruit.
With that said, a promising situation awaits Sy should he commit to Pitt, as Capel can offer him extensive court time and the chance to play a prominent role on a rising team in the ACC. It’s unlikely Sy would see as clear a path to playing time at Ole Miss, as he would have to contend with 6’10” center Rodney Howard and 6’9” power forward Sammy Hunter for minutes.
