Baylor top recruit Tounde Yessoufou chasing California record in final Bay Area showing at Crush in the Valley

For Bay Area boys basketball fans, there’s one more chance to watch probably No. 1.
He would be Tounde Yessoufou, St. Joseph-Santa Maria’s relentless, chiseled, skilled, focused, powerful, high-flying senior scoring, rebounding, defending machine.
We say machine not because he’s in any way robotic personality wise. He’s friendly. Personable. Easy to smile.
But the 6-foot-6, 215-pounder from the Republic of Benin in West Africa has been machine-like in his consistency as a scorer, rebounder and winner for the Knights, who since Yessoufou has arrived has won 106 games, lost 16, including 20-1 this season.
Of those 122 games, the Baylor bound wing has played 115 games and scored at least 20 points 103 times and grabbed at least 10 rebounds on 73 occasions. He’s scored at least 30 58 times and 40 or more 15 times, with a high of 46. He scored just 18 in his varsity debut as a ninth-grader and followed it up with 44 the next game.
Yessoufou had one remarkable stretch as a junior, scoring at least 30 points in 13 straight games.
According to statistics kept on MaxPreps, through 115 games, he’s scored 3,313 points (28.8 average) good for sixth all-time in California history, according to Cal-Hi Sports. He’s chasing the state leader Demarcus Nelson (Valleljo, Sheldon) with 3,462 and should reach it sometime late in the regular season.
If he scores 22 points in a league game Thursday with Arroyo Grande, he’ll move into No. 4 all-time scoring slot.
“He is extremely driven,” is what St. Joseph coach Tom Mott said makes Yessoufou so great. “He’s so focused on what he wants to do. No matter what, he’s going to outwork you. For a high school kid to be as prepared as he is. … he’s just different than most kids.”
Bay Area fans got to watch to see all that drive and all that skill and athleticism Monday during a 67-62 win over Modesto Christian at the De La Salle MLk Classic and Saturday he and the Knights return again for the 10th annual Crush in the Valley Showcase at Contra Costa College in San Pablo.
St. Joseph (20-1), ranked third in the state by SBLive, takes on No. 6 Salesian-Richmond (18-1) in a battle of the last two Northern California Open Division champions.
“I don’t know how you stop him,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. “You have to have someone strong on him because of his ability to post up and someone quick enough to guard him on the perimeter. It’s pick your poison.”
Said long time West Coast scout and former college coach Gerry Freitas: “He’s physically superior to every kid he plays against. He plays bully ball and through brute strength he’s dominated for four years. He plays super hard. There’s differing opinions on how he’ll do at the next level. But there’s no arguing what he’s done at this level. He’s been great.”
The naysayers might reconsider if they watched Yessoufou on Monday, watching him go for 25 points and 12 rebounds on a variety of tough shots, including four contested 3-pointers. He also made a soft 5-foot teardrop at the halftime buzzer after dribbling the length of the floor at sprinter speed in about four seconds.
The ball didn’t bank in or hit any part of the rim. It swished softly through the met like a shot Stephen Curry pulls off regularly.
“My coaches have worked with me that that’s the sort of play I need to work on,” Yessoufou said. “In college I’m going to have to play against big guards, plus with five seconds left I knew I had to get down hill and get fouled or make an and-1.”
His 3-point shot was especially smooth and impressive, hitting one at the third-quarter buzzer. Those two buzzer-beaters accounted for the margin of victory.
“For me to play at the higher level I’ll need to be able to shoot at that length so I’ve been working on it for the last couple of years,” Yessoufou said. “This year I feel like I’ve put it all together and just play ball.”
That goes back to Yessoufou’s ability to focus and adapt and out-work the competition, Mott said.
“As a freshman, 90 percent of his points came from the key,” he said. “Now it’s about 30 percent. He’s always going to be successful at every level because of how hard he works.”
Mott had to laugh, noting a couple “off games” this season for his star player. “He’s still finishing with a 20 and 10 game. If that’s your bad game that tells you something.”
With St. Joseph playing a national schedule — the Knights just got back from Hoophall in Springfield (Mass.) where they beat Holy Innocents Episcopal of Atlanta (Ga.). where Yessoufou battled 6-9 Caleb Wilson, a 5-star prospect with a reported 27 offers including Kentucky and Ohio State.
Yessoufou ended with 23 points and nine rebounds in a 61-57 Knights’ win.
“Honestly, Tounde was just too physical for him,” Mott said. “He goes out and plays the best in the country and he’s still one of the biggest dogs on the court.”
Even though this will be the last time Yessoufou will play a high school game in the Bay Area, he and the Knights could easily see a Bay Area opponent if they are moved to the Northern California regional.
Central Section qualifiers for the state tournament are placed in either the North or the South. As a freshman and junior, Yessoufou and the Knights were placed in the South, losing in the first- and second rounds.
In 2023, the Knights won the NorCal Open Division so Saturday could be a preview of the title game considering Salesian is the defending champion.
“I honestly don’t care,” Yessoufou said. “If they put me in the South we’re still hooping. If I’m in the North, we’re still hooping. But me personally, I wanted to be in the South, but I know all my coaches don’t care where we go and I don’t either.”
More on event: The other big headliner is the nation's No. 3 team according to SBLive, Prolific Prep which features combo guard Darryn Peterson, the nation’s No. 2 rated senior by 247Sports, 6-10, 220-pound forward Nike Bundalo (No. 30), 6-5 shooting guard Mazi Mosley (No. 71) and 6-6 forward Winters Grady (No. 77). ... Peterson has signed to Kansas, Mosley to LSU and Grady to Michigan. … On Saturday, Prolific Prep plays Dream City Christian, which is led by Colorado-bound 6-4 guard Jalin Holland and 6-2 guard Ikenna Alozie, the No. 17 player in the junior class. … Friday and Sunday features all academy school games (see entire schedule below).
CRUSH IN THE VALLEY
At Contra Costa College
FRIDAY
4 p.m. — Rosemary Anderson (Ore.) vs. Prolific Prep Green
5:45 p.m. — Golden State Prep Grey vs. 5-Star Academy PG
7:30 p.m. — Golden State Prep Black vs. DNA Prep PG
SATURDAY
8 a.m. — St. Mary’s-Berkeley vs. Fortune Early College
9:45 a.m. — Albuquerque Prep (NM) vs. Rosemary Anderson
11:30 a.m. — Bishop O’Dowd vs. Benicia
1:15 p.m. — Moreau Catholic vs. Redwood
3 p.m. — Vanden vs. Clovis North
4:45 p.m. — Destiny Christian vs. Millennium (Ariz.)
6:30 p.m. — Prolific Prep vs. Dream City Christian
8:15 p.m. — Salesian vs. St. Joseph-Santa Maria
9:45 p.m. — Weston Ranch vs. St. Patrick-St. Vincent
SUNDAY
9 a.m. — Simpson vs. Prolific Prep Green
10:45 a.m. — 5-Star Academy PG vs. Golden State Prep Black
12:30 p.m. — Dream City Christian (Ariz.) vs. Albuquerque Prep
2:15 p.m. — Rosemary Anderson vs. Prolific Prep
4 p.m. — DNA Prep PG vs. Golden State Prep Grey