Class of 2022 Penn State basketball signee cracks ESPN's top-100 list
Penn State Nittany Lions basketball signee Kebba Njie earned a place in the final ESPN 100 update for the 2022 cycle.
Njie, a 6-foot-9 forward out of La Lumiere School in Indiana, came in at No. 100 on the list.
Along with four other members of Penn State’s Class of 2022, Njie is set to make the move to campus in a little less than a month.
The Penn State staff is excited by Njie’s potential. Speaking last fall, assistant Aki Collins — his lead recruiter — predicted that the program will go as Njie goes.
“In my opinion, we’re going to be really, really good as he continues to develop,” Collins said.
“You just see the potential on him. As he matures, he’s going to be a phenomenal player.”
Speaking to BWI following his verbal commitment last September, Njie explained his confidence that Penn State’s staff would help him reach that potential.
“Something that stood out to me on the visit was their individual workout plans, and how they can translate it into the game,” Njie said. “The coaches, they did a really good job of demonstrating that to me. They showed me other players who they think that I could be like, and I think that really influenced me to make my decision a lot.
“That was a major part of my decision, the individual part of it. I know that once you get to college, there’s a lot of team stuff that you do with everyone, but I want to see us working out one-on-one.”
Penn State’s plan for Kebba Njie
Njie explained that the Nittany Lions see him as a versatile forward who can excel on both the inside and the perimeter.
“Kind of like your modern day big,” Njie said previously. “Being able to have the confidence to bring the ball up, make plays for our team and be a decision maker. But also at the same time, be able to go and get my own.”
The Nittany Lions’ picture at center heading into this season is somewhat unclear.
A transfer portal addition of some kind seems likely, but Penn State hasn’t landed on one just yet.
Shrewsberry expressed a desire to take pressure off his five freshmen by bringing in experience this offseason.
“For next year’s team, we do want to add a couple older guys so we don’t have to lean on those freshmen just to be primetime players right off the bat, which is really hard to do as a college freshman,” Shrewsberry said at the beginning of the offseason. “No matter how good you are, freshmen struggle a little bit.”
Alongside Njie, PSU signed a second big in Demetrius Lilley, out of Philly. Lilley is a three-star prospect according to On3 and the No. 33 center in the country according to the Consensus.
“He’s not the most athletic guy that’s going to be hanging and swinging on the rim all the time, but he really pursues the basketball on the offensive glass and defensive glass,” assistant Mike Farrelly said of Lilley.
