It was a big deal when the Auburn Tigers landed coveted five-star prospect Yohan Traore, a 6-10 center from Prolific Prep who was ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2022 at 247Sports.
However, Traore’s freshman year under coach Bruce Pearl did not go according to plan. Traore appeared in 25 games for the Tigers but he only played about 10 minutes per night, averaging just 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and not even scoring in his final six games.
Traore unsurprisingly entered the transfer portal, hoping for a fresh start, and was given that chance across the country in the Big West at UC-Santa Barbara, a quietly excellent mid-major program that has made the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three years under coach Joe Pasternack.
The move is clearly paying off, as Traore posted his second straight excellent performance for the Gauchos on Thursday – dropping a career-high 25 points on 10-14 shooting in a loss to UC-Davis.
This comes after a 24 point performance on 8-10 shooting against Howard back on December 20, and raises his season average to 16.6 points on a blistering 65.6% from the field.
Traore isn’t bringing much else to the table, with only two assists, two blocks, and zero steals in 10 games and 257 minutes, and his 56.1% mark from the free throw line is less than ideal.
Still, the big man is starting to find the potential he flashed in high school, and paired with an elite NBA caliber point guard in Ajay Mitchell it would not be a surprise to see him turning serious heads throughout Big West play and potentially in the NCAA Tournament.