What Louisville Gains from Aboubacar Traore
What the Long Beach State transfer offers to the Cardinals is as follows.
LOUISVILLE, KY: Since taking over as head coach of the Louisville men’s basketball team, Pat Kelsey has been dominating the transfer portal. On Thursday, he signed one of the most underappreciated mid-major transfers available.
Aboubacar Traore, who spent his first three college seasons at Long Beach State, is joining the Louisville Cardinals to wrap up his career.
This past season, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound small forward was among the best in the Big West Conference. Traore, who started 31 of the 36 games he played in, finished each game with 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, a team-high 4.5 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals. He also shot 51.7 percent from the field.
This past season, Traore not only made the First Team All-Big West, but he was also voted the Best Hustle Player in the conference. After averaging 13.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game—including a triple-double in the opening game—he went on to win the Big West championship MVP award and help the Beach win the conference championship and secure its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2012.
What else does Traore provide to the Cardinals, though, outside of his stat lines?
Traore’s game can be best described as a combination of classic power forward traits like physicality, length, and game management combined with the athleticism and height of a two guard or small forward. Traore plays more bigger than his stature would suggest and frequently plays above the rim, so don’t be deceived by that.
Traore is pretty physical on the trip, as you may guess. He has exceptional ability to receive and distribute contact to create room for a shot, whether he is driving directly to the hoop or he is defending the basket against his opponent. He really shot 63.1 percent on close twos and dunks.
Not to mention, Traore has amazing off-ball offense. He can outmuscle opponents for the pass, receive the pass inside the arc and start the drive, and follow the ball handler for the bucker, making him an underappreciated asset in transition. He also makes good cutbacks, particularly from the elbow.
Traore’s vertical and length allow him to score a good portion of his goals through put backs. He can leap higher for the ball than his opponent can, outmuscle him for a reasonably simple shot, and he is adept at positioning himself against his man. Traore ranked eleventh in D1 among players who were 6-foot-5 or shorter with an offensive rebounding percentage of 9.4.
Traore’s game revolves primarily around the rim, so it makes sense that he draws a lot of fouls and frequently finds himself in the free throw line. Nevertheless, he only makes 66.5 percent of his foul throws even though his free throw percentage of 69.3 percent was 25th in D1.
Building on the last point, Traore’s primary criticism is that he is not a shooter at all. In the previous season, he attempted 84 percent of his field goals at the rim; thus far in his collegiate career, he is 5-of-34 on three-pointers.
Traore’s modest proclivity for turnover is another unpleasant criticism leveled at him. They usually occur when he unintentionally shifts his pivot foot while leaning into his aggression a little too much. Last season, he averaged 2.6 turnovers per game and had a 20.7 percent turnover rate.
Despite his occasional tendency to cough up the ball, Traore is a highly underappreciated passer. His 28.6 assist rate ranks him twenty-first nationally among D1 players who are six feet five inches or taller.
Traore is a shining example of defense. He can guard practically any player on the floor and is a superb pick-and-roll defender. With his 5.2 block percentage, which ranks first in D1 among players 6-5 or shorter, he is an exceptional blocker for someone his size.
He is a two-time recipient of the Big West Hustle Award, which speaks something about his work on the court’s defensive end. Too often, the phrase “junkyard dog” is used to characterize a player’s defense, and Traore is a prime example of it.
All things considered, this is another commitment that will be extremely important even though it may not be Louisville’s top transfer in the portal class. Being a non-shooter, Traore might not be the ideal addition to Pat Kelsey’s scheme, but he is the kind of player who can quickly fill up the box score and is another “glue guy” type of selection.
