skip navigation

JUCO Insider: Emmanuel Malou has had six NBA teams and interest from 4 major programs

By Brad Winton , 02/27/15, 7:30PM EST

Share

College and pro teams tracking 2016 JC prospect

Six NBA teams and plenty of division 1 programs have been in to watch Yuba College (CA) freshman Emmanuel Malou, according to his coach. Malou is originally from Sudan and then headed to Australia, like many other Sudanese players have done in the past, before coming to the U.S.  

He played last season at ABCD Prep in Iowa, but failed to qualify. It looked like he was leaning toward Iowa State out of prep school, but since he didn’t qualify he had to go the junior college route.  There were many junior colleges pursing Malou, who went back to Australia last summer. He gave a verbal commitment to the College of Southern Idaho, but that fell through and he eventually announced that he would be attending Yuba College in California.

Malou has had plenty of traffic at Yuba this season and a good amount of that has been from NBA teams. As of now, he plans on returning to Yuba next season to play out his sophomore year. After that, many feel that he may throw his name in the NBA Draft instead of pursuing the D1 route.

Yuba College head coach, Doug Cornelius, said that the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons have been in to see Malou this year. The Portland Trailblazers are expected to see him this season as well and the Sacramento Kings have called to check on him.

The four D1 programs that have been recruiting Malou the heaviest are Gonzaga, USC (Southern Cal), Texas Tech and Mississippi State.

Malou is extremely long, mobile and athletic for his size.  He needs to continue to add size and muscle, but his ability to get up and down in transition along with his skill and athleticism are very intriguing. Malou has a solid handle for being 6'9 and a solid stroke from 15-20 feet. He's a good shot blocker who gets off the floor quickly and has the ability to change the game defensively. 

Malou is obviously one of the top 2016 junior college prospects in the country. Stay tuned for more updates on him as he finishes his first season of JC basketball.

Here is a highlight tape from Malou when he was at ABCD Prep (Via courtsidefilms.com)

Recent Headlines: