Nov. 14, 2012

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State men's basketball head coach Craig Robinson announced Wednesday that Cheikh N'diaye (pronounced Shay N-jiy) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program for the 2013-14 season.

"We are very excited to have Cheikh N'diaye joining the program," Robinson said. "To have a legit seven-footer who can get in the game and make some athletic plays is going to be important for us going forward. His length, his athleticism and his basketball IQ are going to help us tremendously."

N'diaye, a 7-foot-0, 230-pound center from Carlsbad, Calif., attends Army-Navy Academy where he averaged 11.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.3 blocked shots per game during his junior season. He arrived at Army-Navy Academy as a freshman from Dakar, Senegal and plays for head coach Tom Tarantino who said he had several options of where to attend college.

"He really liked Oregon State," Tarantino said. "He felt there was a family atmosphere there and both of their centers are seniors so he has a chance to contribute early. He's very excited, and honestly, I think he made a great choice."

N'diaye is ranked the 36th best center in the nation by ESPN.com, which says he has "quite the impressive frame with extremely long arms and he is quite coordinated considering his youth. Presently, his strength is his shot blocking prowess. He has tremendous timing at both ends of the floor and due to his length he is quite the challenge to shoot over. Offensively, he runs very well for a big and he has soft hands as well. He rebounds well in his area and gets most of his points on tip-ins offensive rebounds. He is the most impressive center-type in California for his class. If his skill-set (back to the basket game) and fundamentals improve his stock will continue to rise."

Click on the following YouTube link to watch highlights of N'diaye:

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