Iowa basketball adds Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore

The Iowa Hawkeyes added another piece to their 2024-25 men’s college basketball roster on Wednesday.

Manhattan Jaspers transfer guard and forward Seydou Traore announced his commitment to Iowa.

A native of New York, N.Y., Traore averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 43.3% from the field, 25.6% from 3-point range and 80.0% from the charity stripe.

The 6-foot-7, 215 pound swingman just completed his freshman season where he scored in double figures in 18 contests. That included 16 points and eight rebounds in a game at Kansas on Nov. 10, 2023.

Traore also registered 10 games with double-figure rebounds, including four contests where he pulled down a dozen or more boards.

Traore tallied six double-doubles during the 2023-24 men’s college basketball season and was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s All-Rookie Team.

“It was truly a blessing being named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Before the season, I set a goal for myself, and I just worked in the offseason. Even though I fell short on one of my goals to win Rookie of the Year, it was one of the best seasons I’ve ever been a part of. I give all my success to God and the coaching staff believed in me to play with a tremendous amount of confidence,” Traore said after the season with Manhattan.

Traore joins a core at Iowa that features sophomore forwards Owen Freeman, Ladji Dembele and Pryce Sandfort, sophomore guard Brock Harding and junior guard Josh Dix.

Iowa is awaiting a stay-or-go decision from forward Payton Sandfort who is going through the NBA draft process but has maintained his collegiate eligibility so far. Sandfort averaged 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season while shooting 44.6% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point distance.

Iowa also added former Morehead State guard Drew Thelwell out of the transfer portal this offseason.

The 6-foot-3, 195 pound guard played and started in all 68 games for the Eagles over the past two seasons. In his career, Thelwell has appeared in 114 games and started 69.

This past season, Thelwell averaged 10.0 points, 6.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The Orlando product shot 43.5% from the floor and 33.8% from 3-point range. Thelwell netted 64.5% of his free throw tries.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire