It's time for Big Blue Nation to get excited about Ousmane N'Diaye

Ousmane N'Diaye is going to be a special player for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Ousmane N'Diaye | Kentucky Athletics

One of the best moves Mark Pope made this offseason was adding Senegalese power forward Ousmane N’Diaye to the 2026-27 roster. On the roster, N’Diaye is listed at 7’0, and he is going to play the four for the Wildcats. The things that he is able to do at that size are very impressive and knowing he can shoot the ball at a high level, he will be a perfect fit for the Pope system.

After the first week of practice, some very positive reports have come out that N’Diaye is looking very good, and this would be great for Kentucky. I expect N’Diaye to start at the four with Malachi Moreno playing the five and Milan Momcilovic playing the three. This would give the Wildcats a ton of size and shooting.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during the postgame press conference after the game against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

When players come from outside of the USA, it is always interesting to see how things go once they get to the States and play SEC-level competition. This was a concern for N’Diaye, but things seem to be looking good right now for him. N’Diaye has been playing pro ball in Italy of late, but he is finally ready to make the move over to college basketball.

Last year, Pope added Andrija Jelavic, from Croatia, who showed signs of being a really good player but just never seemed to really put it all together. I believe part of the reason why it took Jelavic so long to get going was that he missed a good chunk of the summer. That is not the case with N’Diaye, as he is already on campus, and this extra time will be a big help for him to get ready for his first season of college basketball.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on against the Santa Clara Broncos during the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

I expected N’Diaye to break out for the Wildcats this year, but I thought it would take him longer to get used to the Pope system and playing in Lexington. The fact that this transition is going so well for N’Diaye shows me that he is going to live up to the hype this season in Lexington.

Last season, the four wasn’t a strength for the Wildcats, and with the way N’Diaye and Justin McBride have played so far this offseason, I don’t see this position being an issue this year. N’Diaye has the upside to be one of the best power forwards in all of college hoops if he hits this upside.

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