Michigan Basketball Offers Elite 2022 PF Yohan Traore
France native and 2022 Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep four-star power forward Yohan Traore finally got his Michigan offer, according to On3.com's Joe Tipton.
Head coach Juwan Howard and his staff watched the 6-11, 227-pounder closely during the July live period, which included Adidas' 3SSB event in Alabama, where he was considered perhaps the most impressive prospect in attendance. He began his string of standout performances with a 25-point showing (9-of-12 on field goals) on day one of the aforementioned tournament.
It's likely that he becomes a five-star prospect by the time Rivals.com comes out with its updated rankings.
"It’s extremely rare for a prospect to start the travel season not in the Rivals150 and finish it with five stars next to his name, but that’s likely going to be the case with Yohan Traore (1) in the next update," wrote Rivals analyst Dan McDonald. "[He] came over from France during the high school season and never really made a huge impact on a loaded Prolific Prep team last season. But following a strong few months with Southern Assault and Dream Vision, Traore looks like one of the top post prospects in the class.
"He’s strong, athletic, skilled and competes on both ends, which has resulted offers from many top programs such as Arkansas, Houston, Kansas, Louisville, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and USC. He could also consider the professional route."
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After watching Traore stand out at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in late July, fellow Rivals.com national analyst Jamie Shaw concurs that he'll earn a fifth star and end up a top-10 prospect.
"There is not much on the floor Traore cannot do," he wrote. "Now he still needs to continue to tighten it all up, but he has range on his jump shot, can score with his back to the basket, can slide his feet on defense, can attack the basket off the bounce, it is a full quiver of arrows for him.
"He showed glimpses of brilliance in this camp, and he competed, which was not always the case in this setting. When it comes to his NBA prospects, you wish he was a couple inches taller, but for college, this will not matter as much. Traore, of Napa (Calif. ) Prolific Prep, is currently ranked No. 64 in the ‘22 Rivals150 and averaged 12.4 points and 3.8 rebounds on 57.4-percent shooting for the week."
Traore holds offers from nearly 20 schools, including Arizona State, Gonzaga, Kansas, LSU, Louisville, Ohio State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC and others.
He has already taken unofficial visits to TCU and Texas, is planning an official visit to Tennessee in September, according to ZagsBlog.com, and hopes to cut his list down that same month, he recently told Sports Illustrated. After receiving his Michgian offer, Traore told Endless Motor Sports that he will visit the Wolverines at some point, with the date to be determined.
"I just want to be at a school where I have a great relationship with the coaching staff, and I want to be somewhere that will let me play both the stretch four as well as post up," Traore said. "I just want to be somewhere that gets my game and puts me in position to be my best.”
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