Long Beach State Transfer Aboubacar Traore Commits to Louisville

The former forward for the Beach was one of the best players in the Big West Conference this past season.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One of the more underrated mid major transfers currently in the portal is joining the Louisville men's basketball program.

Former Long Beach State forward Aboubacar Traore announced Thursday that he has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals.

Traore is the seventh transfer to commit to Louisville so far this offseason. Guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott are both following new head coach Pat Kelsey from Charleston, while James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr., Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley and Washington guard Koren Johnson are also joining the fold. BYU center Aly Khalifa also committed, but will redshirt the 2024-25 season.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound small forward was one of the best players in the Big West Conference this past season. Playing in all 36 games with 31 starts, Traore put up 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, a team-best 4.5 assists, a team-best 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, while also shooting 51.7 percent from the floor.

Not only did Traore earn First-Team All-Big West honors this past season, he was also named the conference's Best Hustle Player. He then won the Big West Tournament MVP after averaging 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game to help the Beach win the conference tournament and clinch their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012.

A native of Côte D’Ivoire in West Africa, Traore has had a productive three-year career at Long Beach State. In 101 appearances and 88 games, he has totaled 1,033 points, 853 rebounds and 318 assists.

Louisville's seven portal commitments won't be their last transfer additions this offseason. Following the dismissal of second-year head coach Kenny Payne back on Mar. 13, the Cardinals' roster began to flip immediately.

11 Louisville players entered the portal following the end of their 2023-24 season, leaving the Cardinals with zero returning scholarship players. With two more graduating, the only player currently in line to return is walk-on guard Hercy Miller. UofL also has no committed high school recruits in their Class of 2024.

(Photo of Aboubacar Traore: Rob Gray - USA TODAY Sports)

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