Michigan offers 2023 three-star forward Baye Ndongo

Sep 23, 2022 - 12:00 AM

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Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines are still looking to land their first commitment in the 2023 recruiting class, and they are hoping to land one from three-star power forward Baye Ndongo after extending him an offer earlier this week.

“I’m really interested (in Michigan),” Ndongo said to 247Sports earlier this week ($). “I like the way they play and it a really good school. I haven’t met (Howard) yet, but he sounds like a nice person. His personality, I like it.”

The 6-foot-10 power forward is ranked 185th in the 2023 class, coming in as the 39th-best power forward and the third-best recruit from the state of Colorado, according to the 247Sports composite. He’s amassed offers from about a dozen schools, including Penn State, Arizona State, Colorado, Providence and Washington.

A native of Senegal, it’s clear why more than a few Division 1 programs are interested in Ndongo. He has incredible length and times the jumps on his blocks well, even pulling off the Bill Russell catch-the-shot-mid-air maneuver in the first clip, which has to eviscerate the opponent’s confidence level. He’s also got incredible touch and footwork around the rim.

You can see a little bit of Moussa Diabate in Ndongo’s game, as he’s a solid interior defender who can stay in front of guards and runs the floor like a gazelle.

Ndongo is listed at 220 pounds on 247Sports, but he looks a little lighter than that in most of the clips of him I’ve seen. He’ll need to put on a little bit more muscle to bang with Big Ten bigs, but he does have a nifty fadeaway post move to combat his skinny frame.

His post game as a whole is already solid. As you can see in the clip above, he’s good at sealing opponents off and finishing with a quick hook shot. He can also use his quickness off the dribble when facing up to post defenders.

Hopefully the Wolverines can land a commitment from Ndongo before his senior season starts in a few months.