Rhode Island basketball gets a player with Big East roots; who is he?
The University of Rhode Island men's basketball team started the week with a commitment.
St. John’s transfer forward Drissa Traore pledged to the Rams after a recent visit to campus. The former Red Storm forward announced his decision on his personal social media pages.
Traore is a 6-foot-8 physical presence who can work in the paint or on the perimeter. He slots into a URI frontcourt rotation that currently includes David Fuchs, David Green and incoming Baltimore wing Tyonne Farrell.
More: Here are the latest RI comings and goings in the college basketball transfer portal
Traore averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 28 games off the bench for St. John’s. He finished with seven points and four rebounds in a loss to Michigan and chipped in six points in a blowout win over Fordham. Traore played double-digit minutes in six of his first 11 games but saw his time limited from there in favor of Joel Soriano, Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor, Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum and Massachusetts transfer RJ Luis Jr.
Traore and Soriano survived widespread roster turnover entering the 2023-24 season. Rick Pitino swept in with a fresh cast of transfers and divorced from the majority of players recruited by previous coach Mike Anderson. The Red Storm went 20-13 overall, ended up on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and declined an offer to play in the NIT.
Traore is a Harlem native who played for a pair of powerhouse programs before his two years at St. John’s. He prepped at nationally ranked Long Island Lutheran and competed on the Nike circuit with PSA Cardinals. Illinois, Bryant, Manhattan, Stony Brook, Siena, Marist and multiple Atlantic 10 rivals — La Salle, Fordham, UMass and Saint Louis — were among those recruiting Traore before he committed to the Red Storm.
Traore is the third transfer commitment for the Rams in this cycle. Sebastian Thomas returns to his home state after a breakout year at Albany and Jamarques Lawrence is in from Nebraska. Traore and Lawrence each retain two years of eligibility while Thomas will finish his college career in 2024-25.
URI also has multiple players from last year’s roster who have found new homes. Jeremy Foumena committed to High Point on Sunday and Brandon Weston pledged to Tennessee State on Monday. They join Tyson Brown (Georgia Southern) and Zek Montgomery (Bradley) among those who will continue elsewhere after a 12-20 finish.
Luis Kortright, Rory Stewart and Connor Dubsky are the Rams scholarship players remaining in the portal. Walk-on guard Jimmy Ball will return after some prodding from Thomas — Ray Allen III and Jameson Smith are still evaluating their respective futures. Kortright is the only member of that group who played a prominent role in 2023-24, averaging 10.0 points and 3.7 assists after moving from Quinnipiac.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Forward Drissa Traore transfers to Rhode Island basketball
