Meet the guy Dallin Hall says ‘is the most underappreciated BYU basketball player of all time’
Fouss Traore, a senior center from Mali by way of Wasatch Academy, had a double-double off the bench in win over West Virginia
After reserve center Fousseyni Traore scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in BYU’s convicting 77-56 rout of West Virginia on Saturday night, junior guard Dallin Hall — who has also been relegated to a backup role — waxed poetic about the 6-foot-6 senior from Bamako, Mali.
“I think the guy sitting right here (in the postgame interview room) is the most underappreciated BYU basketball player of all time,” Hall said. “Like, he brings it every day.”
With 3-point opportunities few and far between over the first 15 minutes or so of the first half, Traore was needed to bring it mightily against the Mountaineers as the Cougars’ best low-post scorer.
Naturally, he delivered one of his best performances in his four years in the program — the first three as mostly a starter and this year as a backup to jumping jack Keba Keita.
Traore also had a nice game in BYU’s 91-81 win over Arizona State on Wednesday, with 10 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. The Big 12 doesn’t have a sixth-man of the week award, but if it did, Traore would be a good candidate this week.
“I just gotta stay focused, locked in, you know?” he said after logging 21 minutes against WVU. “It is part of the process. If coached called my name, I just had to make sure I am ready, you know? We just get it done.”
This week was the first time this season and second time in his career that Traore has scored in double figures in the first half in back-to-back games.
His 20 points overall on Saturday was his highest total in a Big 12 game this season (he had 29 against Idaho on Nov. 16) and came close to the 24 he put on WVU last year in Morgantown.
“I definitely love playing against them,” he said. “It is always fun for me, yeah.”
Traore also delivered some encouraging words for BYU fans after the Cougars’ sixth-straight win, saying this is the best team he’s played on in his four years in Provo since moving up the road from Wasatch Academy.
“I feel like everything is just clicking at the right time, you know?” Traore said. “I am just super excited with the way we are just figuring out everything, especially now that the big tournament is coming. There isn’t much time (left). I believe in this team. I think we can make a big run and shock a lot of people. I do believe that.”
Where BYU basketball stands
To make a lengthy postseason run, BYU will need all 10 or 11 players in its rotation to follow the lead of “Fouss” — rhymes with moose — coach Kevin Young said after BYU’s bench scored 43 points against WVU, 31 against ASU and 30 in the 96-95 upset of No. 19 Arizona in Tucson.
“He’s a huge luxury (to have). He started out the year really good, kinda hit a little bit of a midseason funk, and then I think he’s definitely played himself out of that,” Young said. “Not just tonight, but a couple games leading up to this.
“Fouss and Dallin’s chemistry together has been impressive,” Young continued. “If (teams) are going to play him one-on-one, he is such a force down there. It is a huge luxury, and kudos to our guys for figuring out ways (to get him the ball).”
Traore started in 21 of 33 games his freshman season, 33 of 33 games his sophomore season, 8 of 26 games his junior seasons, and one of 29 this year.
His scoring average dropped from a high of 12.9 in 2022-23 to 10.9 last year to 8.9 this year, but he has never complained, Hall said.
“We obviously have played a lot of minutes together. Fouss was thrown into the fire since his freshman year here, and he’s been asked to carry a big load,” Hall said. “… He is incredible off the court. He is an amazing teammate and so, we have formed a really good relationship, and he is also really easy to play with. Like, he finds the open spots, he seals smaller guys. … I can’t say enough about Fousseyni Traore.”
Hall’s numbers have also dropped a bit overall — he is averaging 6.8 points per game, after averaging 9.0 last year — but in the last half-dozen or so games he’s been fantastic.
Saturday, he added six assists and moved into 11th place on BYU’s career assists list with 385. It was the 10th time he has had five or more assists in a game this season.
Truth be told, Hall is also a bit underappreciated as well. He’s gone from playing with the ball in his hands a lot to sharing point guard duties with highly touted freshman Egor Demin and spotting up, at times.
Still, he’s one of the better shooters off the dribble on the team, having added that to his repertoire.
“I think we have learned a lot throughout the course of this season and through our time in the Big 12. Last year, when we would have off shooting nights, or teams would try to take the 3 away, we would struggle a little bit,” Hall said. “I think this year we are a lot more dynamic. We have a lot of options. … We shoot the 3-ball so well. … I think it is a pick-your-poison thing with us.”
Even with leading scorer Richie Saunders playing his fewest minutes (24:33) since registering only 22 at Houston, BYU’s offense stayed hot. The Cougars have won 28 straight games when shooting 50% or better from the field.
BYU-Iowa State preview
Having locked in no worse than the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament, the Cougars (21-8, 12-6) will look to extend their six-game winning streak at No. 9 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6) on Tuesday.
The Cyclones routed Arizona 84-67 on Saturday and are tied with BYU for fourth place in the league standings.
“We will have to look at the standings, and see where things are at. We don’t talk about that really with the players. This group is very singularly focused on the next task at hand. But obviously me and the staff are dialed into it,” Young said, when asked the importance of Tuesday’s game. “More than anything, it is just a chance to go to a place where they have had a lot of success recently. It will be a good challenge for our guys to play in that type of environment. It is a team that has been really pretty consistent all year. And that’s kind of how we are going to approach it.”
BYU could be without freshman Kanon Catchings, who sustained a left knee injury in the first half and did not return. Young said the 6-foot-9 wing was going to be evaluated Sunday and more would be known then.
Whatever happens with Catchings, Hall said the Cougars will be “really excited” after having lost 68-63 in Ames last year when the Cyclones were ranked No. 6 in the country.
“That’s one of the best atmospheres I have played in. So, stoked for that. They are really talented. They have been beat up through the course of the year, and they are getting a couple pieces back and we are firing on all cylinders right now,” Hall said. “We haven’t looked at the scout. We are going to enjoy this victory tonight and then we will come back after a good day of rest and figure out Monday how to attack that problem.”
