Arizona’s massive freshman class includes a trio of international players that Wildcat fans had probably never heard of until they committed to the Wildcats. The first of those was Sidi Gueye, a 6-foot-11 forward from Senegal.
But while Gueye pledged to play for the UA in late April, before fellow international recruits Mabil Mawut and Ivan Kharchenkov, he officially joined the program far later. Visa issues kept Gueye out of the United States until mid-August, with Aug. 18 the first day he set foot
in Tucson.
“The process (was longer) than we hoped,” Gueye said Wednesday, at Arizona’s media day. “The most important thing is I’m here and I’m so excited to start.”
Gueye, a 3-star prospect ranked by 247Sports as the No. 161 player in the 2025 class, is expected to contribute in the frontcourt once he gets up to speed. That may not take as long as originally thought based on how he’s looked so far in offseason workouts.
“I think he’s picked up things really fast,” senior forward Tobe Awaka said. “I think skillwise he’ll surprise you in terms of what he can do. It will be scary to see his potential in the long run, for sure.”
Gueye comes to the UA after spending the last four years in Spain playing for Real Madrid, one of the top European basketball clubs. He played for Madrid’s senior team this past season in EuroLeague competition, and with a 7-foot-4 wingspan his ability to block shots and protect the rim might be what gets him on the court first.
He was discovered by associate head coach Jack Murphy, who has become the Tommy Lloyd of the UA staff when it comes to recruiting international players. Lloyd made a name for himself in that area when he was an assistant at Gonzaga and that role has been passed on to Murphy, who also found Kharchenkov in Germany.
Gueye has to adjust to the different style of American college basketball, which is far less technical than what he was used to in Europe.
“Here everything is fast,” he said. “You’ve just got to be better and learn. The first (practice) it was really hard. My English is not very good, I had trouble understanding what they were saying.”
While Arizona’s coaches are ultimately the ones who need to get Gueye ready to play, veterans on the team like Awaka and senior point guard Jaden Bradley can also help.
“Just pull him aside and teach him the small stuff,” Bradley said. “Obviously the coaches are gonna tell him everything he needs to know. But it’s kind of different from a player to player point of view. You’re on the court, you really can tell them, maybe get to them easier than the coach probably would.”
