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Georgia Tech Basketball: #34 F Abdoulaye Gueye

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Abdoulaye Gueye #34 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a play against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Abdoulaye Gueye #34 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a play against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The senior forward has seen his contributions on the court rise each year and now Abdoulaye Gueye looks to become a consistent force in the Yellow Jackets starting five.

Believe it or not, Abdoulaye Gueye is entering his senior year already and this season, the Senegal native is looking to maintain a starting spot in the Yellow Jackets starting five. Over the past three seasons, Gueye has seen his role within the program grow. Gueye through his first three seasons has appeared in 59 games as mentioned above and in those 59 games and has made 26 starts. Last season, out of his 31 games played, he made 23 starts and averaged 21.7 minutes per game, the highest of his career.

As a player, Gueye is your traditional “stretch-four” style player. He’s the type of player who can play down low and close to the basket but he can also play out closer to the perimeter if needed.

Last season, Gueye averaged 5.9 points per game which when extended over 40 minutes increased to 10.8 points. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds per game and just over one assist per game. His offensive rating for the season was 97.4, the highest of his career. Overall, Gueye really came into his own once ACC play began last year and he recorded seven double-digit points performances once the calendar turned last season. That is the player that Josh Pastner and the Yellow Jackets coaching staff are expecting to have this season.

Defensively, the advanced stats say that Gueye is an average to an above-average defender as he has a career defensive rating of 100.5. For his career, he has a block percentage of 5.6% and a steal percentage of 1.7%.

Gueye’s best attribute, however, is his rebounding abilities as had a total rebound percentage last season of 12.1%. He recorded nine rebounds twice last season against Yale and Louisville.

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Overall, Gueye development a season ago is encouraging in the fact that he showed consistent improvement as the season went on and gained confidence. Early this season, it may not always be pretty out of the redshirt senior but if he can find a groove, there’s a solid chance that he can turn into a consistent contributor for the Yellow Jackets on both ends of the court.