ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team added another big man to its roster Thursday evening as head coach Johnny Dawkins and staff announced the addition of Utah transfer Lahat Thioune.
Originally from Dakar, Senegal, Thioune joins a short but strong list of former UCF players from Dakar in Tacko Fall and Cheikh Mbacke Diong. Knights' assistant coach Mamadou N'Diaye is also from Dakar.
"Our entire staff is excited to bring Lahat in as a part of our UCF family," said head coach Johnny Dawkins. "We love our Dakar hoopers and we believe Lahat will bring similar elements to his game that Mbacke and Tacko provided. He's a skilled big man with the sky as his limit, and we believe he will help us be a force in the paint for years to come. We can't wait to get him back in the state of Florida."
A 6-foot-10 redshirt junior in 2021-22, Thioune saw action in 27 games with the Utes, starting five. He averaged over 3.5 rebounds per game, and he was third on the team with an 84.0 free throw percentage (21-of-25).
He scored a season-high against Manhattan on Dec. 11, posting 16 points on 4-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also notched seven rebounds, an assist and a steal in the same game. He posted a career-high 11 rebounds at Southern California on Dec. 1.
In his career with the Utes, Thioune has totaled nearly 200 points, 16 steals, 12 blocks and has knocked down 63.5 percent of his shots.
Thioune played high school basketball at Florida Prep Academy in Melbourne, Florida, the same school as Diong. He joins Michael Durr as well as twins Taylor and Tyler Hendricks as the newest member to UCF's 2022-23 recruiting class.
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