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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/WillyOfficial50">@WillyOfficial50</a> has Officially committed & signed with the University of Arkansas Men's Basketball Program Go Hogs! <a href="http://t.co/Ox5LsLgPdq">pic.twitter.com/Ox5LsLgPdq</a></p>— Team ALABAMA ALUMNI (@TeamAlabamaCBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamAlabamaCBA/status/614108195187986433">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Arkansas is in desperate need for some frontcourt help next season, and got some good news today with Willy Kouassi's announcement that he's going to spend his senior season in Fayetteville this fall.
The Hogs are getting a player to will fill a very specific role next season. Kouassi can protect the rim and bring down rebounds. He's not a great scorer, but can provide the type of hustle plays Mike Anderson will need on the team. He rebounded on defense at a rate surpassing all Hogs not named Bobby Portis last year and blocked a higher percentage of shots and only Moses Kingsley blocked a higher rate of shots.
Kouassi never averaged more than 20 minutes a game for Kennesaw State and averaged just 4.6 points in both of his seasons. He's a terrible free throw shooter, only clearing 50% his freshman season at Auburn (only 15 attempts), but can score if he gets the ball close to the basket.
He'll join a frontcourt made up of Kingsley, Jacorey Williams, Ted Kapita, Keaton Miles and Trey Thompson. He's a good fit for this point in the recruiting process if for no other reason than he's a one-year guy, meaning he won't be taking up a scholarship beyond this season. That gives Arkansas another spot for that all-important Class of 2016, which Arkansas appears to appear to have at least six spots available (juco shooting guard Daryl Macon has already claimed one of them). The Hogs still have a scholarship available for next season but at this point it seems likely that will go unfilled, but we'll see.
He was a 4* recruit out of high school and signed with Auburn although he had offers from several SEC schools including Arkansas, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, and others. He was rated the #66 overall recruit in the country on Rivals.