Traore honored by West Coast Conference for a third time

PROVO, Utah – BYU’s Fousseyni Traore was named the West Coast Conference Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday morning, sharing the honor with Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren.

Traore earns the weekly honor for a third time this season, after recording back-to-back double-doubles last weekend in wins over San Diego and Portland en route to helping the Cougars open WCC play at 5-1 for the first time since 2012-13.

The 6-foot-6 forward played a career-high 31 minutes in Thursday’s 78-71 victory over San Diego, where he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. He followed that up with his fourth double-double of the season on his birthday on Saturday with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Pilots.

Traore was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor on Saturday, making him the first player to shoot 100 percent from the field (min. 5 attempts) since Matt Haarms and Richard Harward on January 21, 2021 against Portland.

In WCC play, Traore is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. He has also recorded three of his four double-doubles in league play, tied for first in the WCC with Saint Mary’s Matthais Tass.

2021-22 WCC Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week

1/24 – Fousseyni Traore, BYU (3)

            Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (6)

1/17 – Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (5)

1/11 – Fousseyni Traore, BYU (2)

1/3 – Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga

12/27  - Fousseyni Traore, BYU (1)

12/20 – Mike Mitchell Jr., Pepperdine

12/13  - Houston Mallette, Pepperdine

12/6 – Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (4)

11/29 – Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (3)

11/22 – Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (2)

11/15 – Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (1)