BYU has never had a basketball player from the Ivory Coast — or a native of the continent of Africa.
Until this year.
Charles Abouo will leave Brewster Academy in New Hampshire this spring for BYU's basketball program a more complete and mature player than when he garnered all kinds of honors at Logan High, according to his coach Jason Smith.
"Charles had a fantastic year. Probably the best word to describe Charles is he's versatile. He can play multiple positions, but more importantly, he's able to guard multiple positions, the two, three or four spot." said Smith.
An example?
In the national private school championships, Abouo drew the assignment of guarding Tyreke Evans at American Christian Academy. Evans was the MVP of the McDonald's All-American game back in March in Milwaukee and ranked No. 4 on ESPN's Top 150 list. Evans is headed for Memphis.
Abouo held Evans to just 12 points.
ESPN described Evans as "a future pro" and "a big-time scorer," who "can post up with his size and strength and drives to the basket with an uncanny ability to finish with either hand." ESPN called Evans a "dynamic scorer," a "6-5 version of Allen Iverson" with "superstar ability off the dribble."
The Abouo defensive effort on Evans stuck in Smith's mind because of the hype surrounding Evans. ESPN's talent writer concluded: "There isn't a player in the junior class with his offensive talents; they are, no doubt, unique."
"We won the New England championships," said Smith, "which earned us the right to play in the national prep school championships for the Final Eight. That's when we, as the No. 4 seed, played Evans and American Christian, the No. 5 seed, and beat them in the quarterfinals."
Abouo helped his Brewster Academy finish with a school record 31-4 record. He turned 18 last fall and could have been a senior at Logan High School. A native of the Ivory Coast, Abouo is 6-4, 215 and played three years at Logan High where he earned all-state first team honors his entire career.
The interesting thing about prep school is that it does not count against college eligibility. Abouo will still have four years to play for BYU. The Air Force Academy Prep School has proven a valuable building block for the Falcon football team. Cadets can play for the prep school, learn how to execute the option, and then move on to the freshman year at AFA.
Brewster lost to Hargrave Military Academy 102-93 in the semifinals of the national prep championships. Abouo played with some outstanding recruits who have already signed with Division I teams.
They include Trey Blue (Fordham), Mark Lyons (Xavier), Anthony Carter (Ohio State) and Max Huc (Princeton). The best player on the team and MVP was Emmanuel Negedu, a 6-foot-7 Nigerian who will play at Arizona.
Playing for a team that's used to winning titles is a key for Rose when he recruits players. Abouo fits that mold.
Smith predicts Abouo will fit in perfectly to whatever role Dave Rose throws at him because he's already made one of the major adjustments high school stars have to make at the Division I level.
"He's already learned how to fit in with 11 other players who were superstars in high school, and learn to find a role among other players who've had success and are used to being the guy," said Smith.
Abouo was Utah's 3A player of the year and 2007 MVP of Region 13 and was named all-state three straight years at Logan where he was the team captain.
"In terms of character, I can't say enough about Charles," said Smith. "Charles is a fantastic kid who left a legacy at Brewster's Academy. "Everyone, whether it be peers, faculty, staff, administration or other players would tell you how great of a person he is."
Abouo could be compared favorably to Andre McFarland, one of Smith's players two years ago who averaged 30 minutes this past season at Colorado State.
"Because of Charles' length, he was able to cover a shooting guard, small forward or power forward. He's a throwback player," said Smith.
"Where a lot of kids these days want to dunk on you, Charles has a tremendous midrange game, which is now a rare art form. He can shot-fake, dribble and can pull up and make shots from 10 to 12 feet; that's one of his strengths. But he can hit the three."
Smith concluded he didn't know what "openings" BYU has on the roster because of the uncertain status of Lee Cummard, who is testing the waters in the NBA draft the next three weeks before deciding to return or turn professional.
"But," he said, "Don't be surprised if Charles has moments of brilliance as a freshman."
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com