4-star C Mouhammed Sylla breaks out with schools like Kentucky, UConn, Duke and others watching

One of the breakout performers from last week’s NCAA College Basketball Academy was Mouhammed Sylla. The 6-foot-10 center is currently On3’s No. 40 overall player in the 2025 class. He is originally from Senegal and played last season with the NBA Academy in Latin America.

“I play hard,” Sylla told On3. “I play defense and block shots, I like to do that. I’ll watch the NBA, I watch a lot of Jaren Jackson because he plays hard every game. He blocks a lot of shots, I like how he does blocks, we both do that. And he goes hard in the paint, that’s why I watch him.”

By the second day of the NCAA Academy college coaches were lined up to watch each of Sylla’s games. UConn head coach Dan Hurley, Purdue head coach Matt Painter, and Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser both were courtside for multiple games. So were multiple coaches from programs like Kentucky, Duke, Arkansas, Michigan, Louisville, Michigan State, and others.

“I am definitely going to go to college,” Sylla said. “My coach tells me I have a lot of schools recruiting me right now with a lot of offers. I don’t want to talk about which schools right now, we are still talking about that. I have one more year, I am going to take visits and commit to a school.”

While Sylla’s recruitment is just getting started, he does have an idea of what he is looking for in a school and a college program.

“I want to go to a big college, and I want to go somewhere that is going to play hard,” Sylla said. “I don’t know if I’ll play the four or the five, but I want to play hard.”

Mouhammed Sylla scouting report

Mouhammed Sylla is a 6-foot-10 post player who is originally from Senegal. His best attribute might be that he always seems to be around the ball. Sylla tracks well in and out of his area, both with rebounding and on the defensive end. Defensively, he has some intriguing versatility. Sylla is capable of sliding his feet and turning his hips with perimeter-based forwards. He is also good in the passing lanes and he can protect the rim both on and off the ball. The frame along with the instincts give him an interesting ceiling on defense. Offensively, Sylla shows some nice flashes. He is best when facing the basket and playing toward the rim. He attempts to dunk everything he catches within five feet of the basket. The 6-foot-10 center rolls well toward the rim and he plays out of the dunker areas, providing vertical floor spacing. He also has some face-up skills off the bounce. Ripping through from the high post and getting to the rim on two or three dribbles. He needs to continue developing the jump shot, tightening the skill set, and working on the reads and processing aspect. But the tolls are there. The current production is already in place. The flashes are a little loose, but they provide an intriguing ceiling.