Fans of ACC schools...

[GE Nole]

I come in peace, but just wanted to give a fair warning—Mfiondu Kabengele is becoming a LOAD. The kid is 6’10, 250 pounds, can guard at least 3 positions, is all over the offensive glass, can step out and hit threes, and just went 10-10 from the stripe tonight. And he’s still just scratching the surface.

Is he gonna dominate Duke or UVA? Not yet. He’s not Al Thornton quite yet. But he’s a redshirt sophomore who is probably staying at least another year.

PSA complete.

 

[kl40504]

I come in peace, but just wanted to give a fair warning—Mfiondu Kabengele is becoming a LOAD. The kid is 6’10, 250 pounds, can guard at least 3 positions, is all over the offensive glass, can step out and hit threes, and just went 10-10 from the stripe tonight. And he’s still just scratching the surface.

Is he gonna dominate Duke or UVA? Not yet. He’s not Al Thornton quite yet. But he’s a redshirt sophomore who is probably staying at least another year.

PSA complete.

Who?Is he in High School?

 

[bignish]

I come in peace, but just wanted to give a fair warning—Mfiondu Kabengele is becoming a LOAD. The kid is 6’10, 250 pounds, can guard at least 3 positions, is all over the offensive glass, can step out and hit threes, and just went 10-10 from the stripe tonight. And he’s still just scratching the surface.

Is he gonna dominate Duke or UVA? Not yet. He’s not Al Thornton quite yet. But he’s a redshirt sophomore who is probably staying at least another year.

PSA complete.

Agreed, him vs Zion will be fun to watch in a few weeks.

 

[sgrooms]

Someone's excited about beating 5-8 North Florida.

 

[GE Nole]

Someone's excited about beating 5-8 North Florida.

Actually I don’t think we played all that well. But Kabengele did. And he’s been steadily improving for two years. Hardest worker on the team and a ridiculously smart guy. You should watch his interview after last night. He’s like a coherent, logical Bill Walton.

 

[sgrooms]

Actually I don’t think we played all that well. But Kabengele did. And he’s been steadily improving for two years. Hardest worker on the team and a ridiculously smart guy. You should watch his interview after last night. He’s like a coherent, logical Bill Walton.

So he's the opposite of Bill Walton?

 

[dukedevilz]

Tell us about Phil Cofer. Kabengele certainly has a higher ceiling, but it will be interesting to see how things play out with Cofer back in the lineup (I assume he's returning at some point?).

Also, Canada has a crazy amount of time. They could legitimately win a gold medal in 2024. Seems like for years Canada would start Denham Brown and Olu Famutimi on the wing; good college players, but not skilled enough to ever make it to the league. Canada had 11 NBA players on opening night this year, so they've certainly come a long ways.

 

[wrbchWolfPack81]

Solid dude, hoping my Wolfpack can run those big wheels off the floor.

 

[tw3301]

I come in peace, but just wanted to give a fair warning—Mfiondu Kabengele is becoming a LOAD. The kid is 6’10, 250 pounds, can guard at least 3 positions, is all over the offensive glass, can step out and hit threes, and just went 10-10 from the stripe tonight. And he’s still just scratching the surface.

Is he gonna dominate Duke or UVA? Not yet. He’s not Al Thornton quite yet. But he’s a redshirt sophomore who is probably staying at least another year.

PSA complete.

sounds like another recruit from "The Air Up There." FSU certainly does well with these guys.

 

[GE Nole]

Tell us about Phil Cofer. Kabengele certainly has a higher ceiling, but it will be interesting to see how things play out with Cofer back in the lineup (I assume he's returning at some point?).

Also, Canada has a crazy amount of time. They could legitimately win a gold medal in 2024. Seems like for years Canada would start Denham Brown and Olu Famutimi on the wing; good college players, but not skilled enough to ever make it to the league. Canada had 11 NBA players on opening night this year, so they've certainly come a long ways.

Cofer...we will see. He played 5 minutes on Monday in his first game back and looked extremely rusty. Then he didn't dress for the game last night. When I talked to Ham after the game he said something along the lines of "he could have played but we are taking it very slowly." The staff got burned trying to bring him back too quickly from injury a couple years ago, which is the whole reason he's in his 6th year to begin with. It also sounded like Cofer has some mental hurdles to clear in terms of trusting the foot.

All in all, I'd be shocked if he's ready to make a significant impact on the 12th against Duke. But come March we could be having a different conversation.

 

[GE Nole]

sounds like another recruit from "The Air Up There." FSU certainly does well with these guys.

Sort of. This kid is Dikembe Mutombo's nephew. He played a year of prep ball in Indiana and was only 6'6 coming out of high school. FSU redshirted him the year we had Bacon and Jonathan Isaac and then brought him along steadily last year. In the mean time, he's grown to 6'10 and really filled out. Helps that he's a supremely driven individual and at the same time is extremely selfless. Each year he has embraced his role and fully lived into it. Always puts the team above himself.

He just has such a diverse skill set. And he's drawing nearly 9 fouls per 40 min. Has a nearly 30% usage rate right now.

Just listen to how this guy thinks and operates:

 

[tw3301]

Sort of. This kid is Dikembe Mutombo's nephew. He played a year of prep ball in Indiana and was only 6'6 coming out of high school. FSU redshirted him the year we had Bacon and Jonathan Isaac and then brought him along steadily last year. In the mean time, he's grown to 6'10 and really filled out. Helps that he's a supremely driven individual and at the same time is extremely selfless. Each year he has embraced his role and fully lived into it. Always puts the team above himself.

He just has such a diverse skill set. And he's drawing nearly 9 fouls per 40 min. Has a nearly 30% usage rate right now.

Just listen to how this guy thinks and operates:

View embedded media

his name (and FSU's history) made me think he was straight out of Africa, clearly he's not and is very well spoken. seems like a kid with a good head on his shoulders as well.

 

[dukedevilz]

Cofer...we will see. He played 5 minutes on Monday in his first game back and looked extremely rusty. Then he didn't dress for the game last night. When I talked to Ham after the game he said something along the lines of "he could have played but we are taking it very slowly." The staff got burned trying to bring him back too quickly from injury a couple years ago, which is the whole reason he's in his 6th year to begin with. It also sounded like Cofer has some mental hurdles to clear in terms of trusting the foot.

All in all, I'd be shocked if he's ready to make a significant impact on the 12th against Duke. But come March we could be having a different conversation.

You talked to Ham? What's your involvement with the FSU program? Are you a booster?

 

[sgrooms]

I'm guessing media.

 

[GE Nole]

You talked to Ham? What's your involvement with the FSU program? Are you a booster?

I don’t like to say too much publicly. Can you DM me?

 

[dukedevilz]

I don’t like to say too much publicly. Can you DM me?

I can't DM as I'm not a paying member, currently. But I can certainly appreciate/respect the fact that you want to maintain your anonymity.

 

[jhmossy]

Glad to see Phil Cofer back for you guys today. Dude is a really tough matchup. Was hoping he’d come back after the UVA game though

 

[GE Nole]

Glad to see Phil Cofer back for you guys today. Dude is a really tough matchup. Was hoping he’d come back after the UVA game though

I think he's still a good bit away from being fully back. Though the corner three he hit was a nice sign.

He was only supposed to play 10 minutes, but foul trouble for others increased that.

In some potentially bad news, MJ Walker limped off two minutes into the game and never returned.

 

[Dattier]

his name (and FSU's history) made me think he was straight out of Africa, clearly he's not and is very well spoken. seems like a kid with a good head on his shoulders as well.

He should smile more, too, amirite?