Baylor's Explosive Freshman Enters Midseason Top 10 for Small Forward of the Year

It's already an honor to make any top ten midseason list for best in your position, but to be on the list as a freshman like Tounde Yessoufou, it means everyone can see what this kid is capable of. Even with not having the start to the season most Baylor fans wanted to see — Yessoufou has made the Julius Erving top 10 watchlist for small forward of the year. Leading scorer Cameron Carr recently made the Jerry West Shooting Guard Top 10 list.

Tounde posing for being named top 10 watchlist — Tounde Midseason Top 10 | Baylor Men's Basketball X

The Tounde signing may have gone over some people's heads this year based on the current season Baylor is having, but this guy was a highly touted prospect. Number two small forward in the nation and the 3rd best player out of California, Tounde had offers to teams such as Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arizona. as a 6'5, 215-pound small forward stretch with long arms and a solid build, has a great mid-range shot and plays good productive defense averaging two steals a game this year, Tounde looks like with the right development he can be a top five NBA pick in the future.

Tounde had a great start to the year, shooting 60-for-102 (58.8%) and scoring 18 or more in his first seven games of the year, his best being against Southern University where he scored 28 points, grabbed eight boards and dished out six assists.

Baylor Bears guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) shoots a three pointer. — Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Tounde's stock has dropped slightly after a few struggling games, shooting 29-for-71 (40%) in his last five games this year. Although his shooting hasn't been what he showed at the start of the year, the defensive effort always shows in his game despite the overall team's defense this year. Tounde is third in rebounds on the team, first in steals with 42, almost DOUBLE the next highest on the team with 22 by Senior Dan Skillings Jr.

Yessoufou and Co. need to perform with a grueling schedule ahead

With already having nine losses and then adding you have to play another five more ranked teams this year, three of them you already lost to, and number one Arizona on the 24th. The schedule is definitely not letting up, which means if the Bears want to see the tournament this year, they will have to take a huge jump and show better play against these tough teams towards the end of the year.

Yessoufou and Co. need to perform with a grueling schedule ahead

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