The Fraser Valley Bandits have signed one of the top talents in the history of the Alberta Golden Bears.
The Bandits announced the inking of forward Mamadou Gueye for 2020, and he brings with him a wealth of experience and success with the Edmonton-based school.
Gueye was a key contributor to a Golden Bears team that emerged as Canada West champions in 2014 and 2017, and that also took home third place at the 2014 CIS men’s basketball championship.
Over the course of an impressive university career, Gueye averaged 15 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He also shot 43.9 and 35.5 per cent from field goal and three-point range, respectively. Gueye graduated from Alberta as the Golden Bears’ third all-time leading scorer. His list of achievements includes Canada West Rookie of the Year (2014), three-time Canada West second-team all-star (2015, 2016, 2018) and he ranks third in school history with 657 rebounds.
He went on to play professionally in Germany and Canada, suiting up for the Edmonton Stingers last year in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
“I am excited to move forward by playing my second year in the CEBL for the Fraser Valley Bandits,” Gueye stated in a press release. “This is a very strong and talented league and I have heard very good things about [Bandits head] Coach [Kyle] Julius. I am excited to see how much I can develop under his coaching and expertise. Furthermore, I am super excited to give my all for the Fraser Valley basketball fans.”
Prior to beginning his professional career, Gueye was part of a historic Team Canada group that represented the nation at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Canada defeated New Zealand in the semifinals thanks to a buzzerbeating three-pointer by Gueye, which cemented an 88-86 win. Canada lost the final against Australia, but returned home as silver medalists.
Gueye recently played for the Halifax Hurricanes during the 2019-20 campaign and averaged 26.1 minutes, 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game alongside shooting totals of 54.3 and 43.5 per cent from field goal and three-point range. With the Stingers, he started 14 of 20 games and averaged 11.9 points.
“Mamadou is the only player on the roster that I haven’t coached before and I am eager to work with him and implement him into our program,” Julius stated. “His length and athleticism have caught our attention and he should add a nice piece to our puzzle. He will have the opportunity to grow and his role will be as big as he can make it.”
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