Class of 2026 C Abdramane Siby (Mali) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (4/15/26)

[Zelda Zonk]

I would throw in Murano as a potential NBA guy, too. We don't know anything, but I do trust Givony's assessment. He seemed over the moon about the kid.

I find myself undervaluing and overvaluing the early looks of this roster all at once.

While not him, Siby looks somewhat like Giannis in the way he moves with his size.

Baby Wemby!

 

[Cusesky8214]

 

[Cusesky8214]

Swipe for a few short clips

 

[Cheriehoop]

Ok somebody mentioned him hitting a 3 which I had not seen before. So I found these highlights that were probably posted already but I must have missed. He certainly has a bit more offensive skill than I thought. This is a very nice pickup. No doubt he will be valuable on defense. Not sure if he is starter good or not, but I think he should be just good enough on offense to get significant minutes.

Think we may still need one more center, either that or iat the very least we get two more forwards if one has the ability to also play Center, that could work.

Siby Highlights start at 2:30

Gosh someone mentioned Louie Orr and it’s spooky looking at his head while playing in this clip, (but not in the pictures), he looks like Louie - RIP.

 

[cayugacuse]

Huge pickup! Kid has some wheels and hops!

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Now we need a 24 YO Serbian center who is 7’ and 255 lbs.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Now we need a 24 YO Serbian center who is 7’ and 255 lbs.

Only if he chain smokes has a a 5'o clock shadow at 10 am

 

[CardiacCuse]

i love the fact that this is the same club that produced nikola jokic (and jovic as well)

i mean, they clearly know something about big men

cant be sure how it will translate...but im cautiously optimistic, even if only on that fact alone

(i guess all the doubters are just having PTSD from the long line of weak Cs we've had since forever, it seems like)

siby has good press and seems to be at least in NBA draft discussions...which is also cause for optimism

for me, it comes down to bulk...and if he can withstand the punishment from bigger players and/or bulk up, get stronger...

this is the exact type of pickup I was hoping for...and he shoots 81% from FT?!?!? wow

hopefully theres at least 1 more center added...preferably a big bruiser type to complement sibys thin frame

 

[Niastri]

According to Mike M article he had pretty dang good stats at lower level leagues but then in the better Serbian/Adriatic League was a 3pt/3reb guy. But honestly those are some of the best leagues outside NBA so nothing to be that discouraged about

This was the first thing I looked at.

It is so easy to get excited about lower level statistics. The league he is coming from has a lot of NBA players in it. For instance, the leagues leading scorer is Ohio State grad Duane Washington Jr. who has played 79 games in the NBA. He's playing against grown men, not other countries teenagers.

This is from Google AI, which I have trained to not be an idiot (most of the time.)

Abdramane Siby is coming from the
Adriatic (ABA) League, which is widely considered one of the top 10 to 15 professional basketball leagues in the world. It is a high-level regional league featuring teams from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, etc.) that serves as a premier pipeline for NBA talent.
ESPN +4

League Quality and Competition
The ABA League is far more physically demanding and strategically advanced than standard NCAA competition.

League Ranking: According to basketball analytics sites like No Ceilings and Bullets Forever, the ABA League typically ranks just below the top-tier domestic leagues like Spain's ACB but often ahead of or equal to the Australian NBL and the NBA G-League in terms of prospect development.

NBA Ties: It is common for players on 10-day contract trajectories or those who were just waived by NBA teams (similar to cases like Killian Hayes in other European circuits) to use this league as a springboard back to the US.
The "Mega" Model: Siby played for BC Mega Superbet, a club specifically known as a "draft factory". While the league as a whole is veteran-heavy, Mega is unique because it prioritizes playing teenagers and young prospects alongside a few veteran anchors to prepare them for the NBA.

Because Siby has been playing against grown men who are fighting for professional livelihoods, his defensive stats (like leading the league in block percentage) are considered highly translatable to the ACC. Scouts believe that while he may struggle with the raw strength of ACC centers initially, his experience against professional-grade pick-and-roll schemes gives him a significant mental edge over typical high school recruits.

 

[Niastri]

He's from Mali... so 19 could likely mean 27... Notorious for African pro soccer players in Europe to fudge their age down since birth certificates often don't exist and are created years later when needed.

Under-the-radar Euro-by-way-of-Mali center prospect it is.

Hopefully he's good and not one of the project types we have a history of signing and treating like a walk-on.

Who cares?

If we get his 27-30 year old seasons, we will have watched his prime!

 

[kingtidge]

Who cares?

If we get his 27-30 year old seasons, we will have watched his prime!

I care because it's a plus if so... grown arse man vs. boys, etc.

 

[SaltineW]

Folks, I have done this move on my Nerf Hoop several times. Trust when I say, to perfect it, you have to catch and drop step all in one motion, then execute the blow by (in my case, it's an imaginary defender), then, you have to elevate over another defender and, if you have the length (which I do, as when I play Nerf Hoop i'm 7'1 with an 8' wingspan) you can either dunk, drop it it, or use the glass.

With that out of the way, loved watching this video. Siby has some good footwork. Looks like he also has a right handed baby hook in some other videos, when he's forced to back into the lane from the low box.

 

[Niastri]

I care because it's a plus if so.

I want meaning to be argumentative... It was meant add a one liner.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Folks, I have done this move on my Nerf Hoop several times. Trust when I say, to perfect it, you have to catch and drop step all in one motion, then execute the blow by (in my case, it's an imaginary defender), then, you have to elevate over another defender and, if you have the length (which I do, as when I play Nerf Hoop i'm 7'1 with an 8' wingspan) you can either dunk, drop it it, or use the glass.

With that out of the way, loved watching this video. Siby has some good footwork. Looks like he also has a right handed baby hook in some other videos, when he's forced to back into the lane from the low box.

Your nerf experience sounds legit.

 

[Niastri]

A few more tidbits about the league that our new guy Sibi was playing in.

The average age of players in the Adriatic Basketball Association is 26 years old. The same as the NBA.

34 players in the ABA have NBA experience. 21 other players have high major division one experience.

The best team in the league, Dubai has four NBA players and three other players who were all league in P5 conference conference. The second best team has five NBA players and two all conference P5 players.

Sibi didn't put up much in the way of numbers, but he's playing against grown men that have terrific pedigree. I would guess that the ABA is substantially better for his developmentthan if Sibi had been playing in the G league last season.

Another thing to note regarding Givony, he definitely didn't say anything positive or negative about Sibi playing on offense, which I would call damning with faint praise.

He did say pretty clearly that he thinks his defensive abilities would translate immediately. As we all pointed out playing center in the ACC at 210 pounds is difficult. Hopefully Sibi is still growing and will gain 10 pounds by the fall.

 

[cayugacuse]

Folks, I have done this move on my Nerf Hoop several times. Trust when I say, to perfect it, you have to catch and drop step all in one motion, then execute the blow by (in my case, it's an imaginary defender), then, you have to elevate over another defender and, if you have the length (which I do, as when I play Nerf Hoop i'm 7'1 with an 8' wingspan) you can either dunk, drop it it, or use the glass.

With that out of the way, loved watching this video. Siby has some good footwork. Looks like he also has a right handed baby hook in some other videos, when he's forced to back into the lane from the low box.

Do you have an agent and entered the portal yet?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Folks, I have done this move on my Nerf Hoop several times. Trust when I say, to perfect it, you have to catch and drop step all in one motion, then execute the blow by (in my case, it's an imaginary defender), then, you have to elevate over another defender and, if you have the length (which I do, as when I play Nerf Hoop i'm 7'1 with an 8' wingspan) you can either dunk, drop it it, or use the glass.

With that out of the way, loved watching this video. Siby has some good footwork. Looks like he also has a right handed baby hook in some other videos, when he's forced to back into the lane from the low box.

Abdramane Siby (2006) for Mega against FMP in the U19 ABA Liga final. - Seems much older that we may think

 

[GoSU96]

A few more tidbits about the league that our new guy Sibi was playing in.

The average age of players in the Adriatic Basketball Association is 26 years old. The same as the NBA.

34 players in the ABA have NBA experience. 21 other players have high major division one experience.

The best team in the league, Dubai has four NBA players and three other players who were all league in P5 conference conference. The second best team has five NBA players and two all conference P5 players.

Sibi didn't put up much in the way of numbers, but he's playing against grown men that have terrific pedigree. I would guess that the ABA is substantially better for his developmentthan if Sibi had been playing in the G league last season.

Another thing to note regarding Givony, he definitely didn't say anything positive or negative about Sibi playing on offense, which I would call damning with faint praise.

He did say pretty clearly that he thinks his defensive abilities would translate immediately. As we all pointed out playing center in the ACC at 210 pounds is difficult. Hopefully Sibi is still growing and will gain 10 pounds by the fall.

Adriatic? Dubai?

But Stanford and Cal are in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I guess it just doesn’t matter.

 

[Franz69]

Folks, I have done this move on my Nerf Hoop several times. Trust when I say, to perfect it, you have to catch and drop step all in one motion, then execute the blow by (in my case, it's an imaginary defender), then, you have to elevate over another defender and, if you have the length (which I do, as when I play Nerf Hoop i'm 7'1 with an 8' wingspan) you can either dunk, drop it it, or use the glass.

With that out of the way, loved watching this video. Siby has some good footwork. Looks like he also has a right handed baby hook in some other videos, when he's forced to back into the lane from the low box.

Is there a Nerf portal?

 

[rrlbees]

A few more tidbits about the league that our new guy Sibi was playing in.

The average age of players in the Adriatic Basketball Association is 26 years old. The same as the NBA.

34 players in the ABA have NBA experience. 21 other players have high major division one experience.

The best team in the league, Dubai has four NBA players and three other players who were all league in P5 conference conference. The second best team has five NBA players and two all conference P5 players.

Sibi didn't put up much in the way of numbers, but he's playing against grown men that have terrific pedigree. I would guess that the ABA is substantially better for his developmentthan if Sibi had been playing in the G league last season.

Another thing to note regarding Givony, he definitely didn't say anything positive or negative about Sibi playing on offense, which I would call damning with faint praise.

He did say pretty clearly that he thinks his defensive abilities would translate immediately. As we all pointed out playing center in the ACC at 210 pounds is difficult. Hopefully Sibi is still growing and will gain 10 pounds by the fall.

“He’s got some things to work on offensively. He needs to gain strength - things that most 19-year-old centers need to do. It’s a great pickup for Syracuse.”

Givony, an expert on the international market, said he’s spent a lot of time over the past few years watching Siby. He is primarily known as a rim protector, but Givony said Siby sets good screens, is a good offensive rebounder and a good teammate.”

 

[BillSU]

“He’s got some things to work on offensively. He needs to gain strength - things that most 19-year-old centers need to do. It’s a great pickup for Syracuse.”

Givony, an expert on the international market, said he’s spent a lot of time over the past few years watching Siby. He is primarily known as a rim protector, but Givony said Siby sets good screens, is a good offensive rebounder and a good teammate.”

This is a very good thing to have happen to SU BB

 

[Nicknack]

Lots of people policing other posters' vibes around here lately.

Yeah, I've noticed that as well. Also, guys telling others that they should go root for another team when they disagree. I think some of this is coming from members who don't have a long track record on this board. Not a vibe I like.

 

[cayugacuse]

“He’s got some things to work on offensively. He needs to gain strength - things that most 19-year-old centers need to do. It’s a great pickup for Syracuse.”

Givony, an expert on the international market, said he’s spent a lot of time over the past few years watching Siby. He is primarily known as a rim protector, but Givony said Siby sets good screens, is a good offensive rebounder and a good teammate.”

Agree. It's great to have a big power inside defender, it's also great to have a mobil big that defends the perimeter. Not to many can do both. I'm trusting that he will develop his game and mature physically.

 

[007]

Abdramane Siby (2006) for Mega against FMP in the U19 ABA Liga final. - Seems much older that we may think

Much older than who thinks?? Noted everywhere that he is 19 currently. He will be 20 in October. Yes, he is coming in older than most freshmen and has played against older comp.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Do you have an agent and entered the portal yet?

Unless he shoots >36% from three, and hits 80% of FTs, let him go to Rutgers.