Memphis Roar

Photo Courtesy of Inside Maryland Sports, the Official ESPN Affiliate for Maryland

This past weekend, 18,000-plus sat in the FedEx Forum to take part in the annual event Memphis Madness. Of those 18,000, 2010 PF Hippolyte Tsafack got a front-row seat to take in the festivites. Now that the 6′8″ 230-pound man-child is back in Virginia at The Miller School, Memphis Roar took a moment to catch up with his AAU coach Jim Hart, head coach of the Albany City Rocks.

“He obviously loved the visit. He is one-hundred percent comfortable with everything there,” Coach Hart replied. ”He loved the coaching staff and the new freshman kid they have. He had a great time and was really impressed with how practice was run. He thought the city was beautiful. The visit went fantastic. ”

Tsafack, who is currently a senior at The Miller School in Charlottesville, VA, plays for the Albany City Rocks AAU program out of Albany, NY. This past summer, Tsafack played in such tournaments as the Rumble in the Bronx where he showed off his NBA-frame and post presence.

“[Hippo] has an NBA body. He is as good of an offensive rebounded as there is in the country,” Hart said. ”He does a great job at keeping the ball above his head. What most people may not know about him is that he is pretty fluid and can handle and pass the ball. You may not want him doing that, but he has the ability to do it. His offense is only going to get better.”

ESPN Scouts Inc. had the following to say about Tsafack’s summer performance:

Tsafack possesses limitless physical potential along with a high motor. He has a chiseled frame with good muscle mass, runs the floor well, and is explosively athletic. He looks to dunk everything around the rim and scores the majority of his points by running in transition or going to the offensive glass. He does a nice job of establishing position with his back to the basket but lacks a go-to move, instead relying on overpowering or out-jumping his defender. He becomes less effective the farther he gets from the rim and has little value beyond 5-6 feet. He also has suspect hands and needs to become a better free-throw shooter. Defensively, he’s extremely active and disruptive blocking/contesting shots and rebounding the ball. Ultimately, he’s a player with undeniable potential but one who remains very raw on both ends of the floor, especially in terms of his understanding of the game.

With his game on the rise, Hipp (as his teammates call him) is starting to focus in on his recruitment. Only two weeks after his visit to the University of Memphis, Tsafack is scheduled to visit the University of Maryland’s campus next weekend starting October 30th. Originally reported by Jeff Erman of Inside Maryland Sports (premium link), Coach Hart confirmed today that Tsafack is still planning on visiting the Terps.

“He loves Maryland,” replied Hart. ”He’s pretty high on Maryland. I think he still has his scheduled visit (next weekend) to Maryland. Maryland has recruited him longer than anybody, probably. Nothing else is scheduled right now, but Auburn, Alabama, Miami, and UCLA are all showing interest. ”

With such an established relationship with Maryland, it has been rumored that Tsafack is merely a visit away from committing to the Terps, but Coach Hart claims that it is not so simple.

“See, you have to understand that kids get get good at giving to people answers that they want to hear,” explained Coach Hart. ”Everyone wants answers from these kids so they just say what they have to. Memphis has an advantage in that they have a guy that he already knows. He is close to [Tyler] in that he has spent the last two or three summers here, playing together and staying at his house. They certainly have a level of comfort and enjoys his company so I can’t see how it can’t help.”

In addition to the type of relationship that Tsafack has with current walk-on Tyler Foster, Coach Hart explained that Tsafack has relationships in his native country Cameroon that will play a role as well.

“Obviously, he has people back in Cameroon who are looking out for his best interest and if they are okay with his decision, it will happen when he is ready,” said Hart. “He has his family, obviously and I think that his advisor, who is the head coach of the Cameroon National Team, is going to be very careful that they find a fit where they play right away. Educational and opportunity fit is very important to them.”

While explaining that such things as comfort level and playing time will factor into Tsafack’s decision, Coach Hart had high praise on the way the Memphis staff has handled his recruitment.

“The staff there has done a great job,” said Hart. ”All three coaches there have done a great job. What’s important though is that they are working to establish that level of comfort with his advisor in Cameroon.”

After visiting Maryland next weekend, Tsafack has no specific plan or timeline for a commitment despite reports that he may be waiting until the spring. 

“There’s absolutely no truth to that,” Hart said. ”Who put that out there? When he finds where he is ready to commit and he gets his SAT score, he’s ready to shoot.

Maryland, who already has three ESPNU Top 150 commitments for the class of 2010 including Tsafack’s teammate at The Miller School Mychal Parker, will have another power forward on campus this weekend. Ashton Panky from Bronx, NY will be visiting the Maryland soon. The visit was originally scheduled for this weekend (October 23-25th), but it appears as though that visit may be put off until November. When asked if a Maryland commitment from Pankey would impact Tsafack’s decision, Coach Jim Hart had some encouraging words for the Terps.

“Um, I don’t even think so,” replied Hart. ”I think, unlike other American kids who are looking at all those factors, Hippo is looking for a good fit. I don’t think it would negatively effect him that much.”