Documentary film Hoopland

[spurscenter]

:elephant

[Solid D]

The 18-year old prospect Assane Sene is staying in NY with R.C. Buford's sister, Anne.

http://www.courant.com/sports/college/husky/men/hcu-uconnmen-0830,0,4331389.story

Top Recruit Visits UConn
By MIKE ANTHONY | The Hartford Courant
10:15 PM EDT, August 30, 2007
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STORRS - Walking through Gampel Pavilion Thursday as part of his unofficial visit to UConn, Assane Sene stopped to offer his thoughts. He likes the coaching staff, the current players, the program's history and the facilities.

"And the pretty girls," he said, laughing. "On the way in, I saw them on the campus. They have the prettiest girls here."

Sene, a 7-foot center from Senegal who will play this coming season at South Kent School, won't base his decision on the dating scene, but his joke suggested he is loose at the outset of a hectic time.

Sene has a lot of options. UConn, Syracuse, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, UCLA, Texas and Kansas are among the schools interested. Of UConn, Sene said, "I can say I like the school. I don't know yet if I'm going to come here but if I do I will work just as hard and try to do as everyone who came here before has."

Sene attended Jim Calhoun's Elite Camp Aug. 10-11 at Gampel. He also attended the NBA players association Top 100 Camp at Virginia and Syracuse's Elite Camp this summer. Thursday was his first recruiting visit. He plans to go to Virginia and Syracuse next and eventually return to UConn for an official visit.

"His focus right now is on getting set up at [South Kent] and getting used to the American game," South Kent coach Raphael Chillious said. "He's going to take his time with the decision, moving fairly slow with it. So many schools are jumping on him now and it's up in the air."

Chillious coached Josh Boone at West Nottingham Academy in Maryland. Boone played three years at UConn and was a first-round pick of the Nets in 2006.

"I love what they do at UConn," Chillious said. "I have a lot of respect for them. Their proximity doesn't hurt them but it's more because of the relationship I have built with them."

Sene, a strong student who speaks five languages, made it to the U.S. with help of SEEDS (Sports For Education and Economic Development in Senegal), an organization started by Amadou Falls, the Dallas Mavericks director of scouting. Sene, 18, has been living in New York with the sister of R.C. Buford, general manager of the San Antonio Spurs. Buford is involved with the NBA's Basketball without Borders, a community outreach program that runs camps and helps gain exposure for African players.

Sene is looking forward to being at South Kent, starting next week. He worked out and played pickup with the team in the spring but has yet to play a game in the U.S.

Sene, who shoots left-handed, is still recovering from a thumb injury he sustained while dunking at the NBA camp.

"I'm trying to be able to score with both now," he said. "The first time I was here, the speed surprised me. The ball was moving so fast. I'm not usually playing like that. Every time, they run so fast. They moved the ball and shot the ball every time, so fast. I need to learn the [American] game."