Florida State Basketball: Analysis of Canadian transfer pickup Tanor Ngom

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 12: The Florida State Seminoles, lead by Head coach Leonard Hamilton (L), are presented with the regular season trophy following the cancelation of the remainder of the 2020 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 12, 2020 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The cancelation is due to concerns over the possible spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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GAINESVILLE, FL – DECEMBER 04: The Florida State bench cheers (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

Last week, Canadian University standout Tanor Ngom transferred Florida State Basketball. What are Seminoles fans getting, and how does this help Ngom down the road?

It isn’t too uncommon for former NCAA Division 1 basketball players to transfer away from the US and head to Canada’s university basketball system, USPORTS. In fact, this transfer period alone has seen 10 players move up north for their next college destination. However, much rarer is the opposite, a USPORTS player moving down south to play in the NCAA’s top league.

Yet, this is exactly what former Ryerson Rams center Tanor Ngom announced just last week. The 7’2 big man from Dakar, Senegal makes the move after three very successful seasons in Toronto.

Ngom helped lead Ryerson to a 72-26 record in his three seasons, as well as being one of the league’s best shot blockers and rebounders over the course of his career. More impressively, however, is his soft touch around the rim and out towards the perimeter. He improved his free throw percentage from 51% in his freshman year, to almost 80% combined in his sophomore and junior seasons. While the 3 point shot has yet to come around for Ngom, all indications point to his potential to develop that shot with more time and practice.

On the defensive end, Ngom has put on a ton of weight since making the move from Senegal, and despite his still thin frame, he has improved his low-post strength tremendously at Ryerson. With Florida State’s strength and conditioning regimen, Ngom has the ability to put on 15-25 pounds in his one year in Tallahassee. Still, decent quickness for his size and superior length make him an interesting option defensively for both hedging ball screens and dropping to protect the rim.

While he surely has some more growth in his game, the current iteration of Tanor Ngom will be a valuable piece for Florida State’s 2020-2021 campaign. The uncommon move from Canadian University athletics to the NCAA D-1 ranks will likely be mutually beneficial for both Ngom and the Seminoles.

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