Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
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2 p.m. (MST)
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Scott Bruhn/Nebraska
Ouedraogo ready to go with GCU
4/25/2021 9:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Nebraska transfer brings 6-foot-9, 245-pound frame for 3 seasons
Yvan Ouedraogo has not been to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon campus where he will play basketball next season, but he already knows a good bit about Phoenix basketball.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound transfer is at this level in large part because he met Boris Diaw while at Kameet Basketball Academy in France, where the fellow Frenchman and former Suns star became a mentor to Ouedraogo.
It was Ouedraogo's three-year stint at Kameet Basketball Academy that elevated his game to be able to attend France's elite sports academy, INSEP, where Diaw and French basketball greats Tony Parker, Clint Capela and Ronny Turiaf also came to fame.
From age 15 to 17, Ouedraogo (pronounced WHEY-drah-oh-go) used his opportunities at INSEP (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance) to skip a high school grade and be a collegiate recruiting target. After making 34 starts at Nebraska over the past two seasons, Ouedraogo has three years of eligibility remaining with GCU even through he just turned 19 last month.
"I'm still pretty young," Ouedraogo said. "I'm going to be one of the youngest on the team, but now I've got the experience. I've seen how fast I can improve and how fast things go in this game. With two years under my belt, I'm more ready to have a good season."
Ouedraogo was the youngest player in the Big Ten Conference as a freshman, when he started 30 games and averaged 5.7 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game for Nebraska. He set the Huskers' freshman rebounding records for a game (an 11-point, 19-rebound effort vs. Northwestern) and for a season.
Last season, he started four of 22 games and averaged 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 blocked shots and 0.5 steals in 14.8 minutes per game. He shot 42% from the field over the two Huskers seasons.
"Yvan is a very physical player who is a proven rebounder," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "He moves well for his size and we look for him to help fill some of the void left by Alessandro (Lever) and Asbjørn (Midtgaard)."
Ouedraogo wanted to play for Drew when the GCU head coach was leading Vanderbilt, but Drew was no longer there when it came time for Ouedraogo to sign. That bond quickly renewed when Ouedraogo entered the NCAA transfer portal this spring.
"I really trusted him and we have a good relationship," Ouedraogo said. "He's told me for a long time that he loves my versatility and the way that I can move my feet on offense and defense. GCU went to the tournament and I like the way they've been playing."
Ouedraogo was born in Bordeaux, France, and lived there until he was 7. His family moved to Burkina Faso, the West African nation where the capital city, Ouagadougou, resembles his name. He casually began playing basketball at 9, but moved back to France by himself at age 12 to attend Kameet Basketball Academy. He only trained for his first two years under coach Vincent Mbassi, vastly improving his skills to play on the team for his final year and set up the chance to attend INSEP.
Ouedraogo is currently with family in Burkina Faso and will play for France at the Under-19 World Championship this July in Latvia. His offseasons are now dedicated to staying in shape after he went from ending his 2019-20 season at 274 pounds to now weighing 245.
"I'm really aggressive," Ouedraogo said. "I've got moves. I play really fast. I move fast for my size. I'm really aggressive to the rim. I'm working on my shot and I've got pretty good ball-handling for a big. Defensively, I can switch one through five.
"I like to rebound to start the break. To start the break, you have to rebound. I like offensive rebounds even more because you get a second chance and it really hurts the other team."
Beyond Drew and basketball, Ouedraogo liked what he saw in GCU for its raucous fans, good-natured people and sunny weather.
"The fans are crazy and that's really exciting," Ouedraogo said. "I'm going to try my best to entertain the fans and help us win games."
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound transfer is at this level in large part because he met Boris Diaw while at Kameet Basketball Academy in France, where the fellow Frenchman and former Suns star became a mentor to Ouedraogo.
It was Ouedraogo's three-year stint at Kameet Basketball Academy that elevated his game to be able to attend France's elite sports academy, INSEP, where Diaw and French basketball greats Tony Parker, Clint Capela and Ronny Turiaf also came to fame.
From age 15 to 17, Ouedraogo (pronounced WHEY-drah-oh-go) used his opportunities at INSEP (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance) to skip a high school grade and be a collegiate recruiting target. After making 34 starts at Nebraska over the past two seasons, Ouedraogo has three years of eligibility remaining with GCU even through he just turned 19 last month.
"I'm still pretty young," Ouedraogo said. "I'm going to be one of the youngest on the team, but now I've got the experience. I've seen how fast I can improve and how fast things go in this game. With two years under my belt, I'm more ready to have a good season."
Ouedraogo was the youngest player in the Big Ten Conference as a freshman, when he started 30 games and averaged 5.7 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game for Nebraska. He set the Huskers' freshman rebounding records for a game (an 11-point, 19-rebound effort vs. Northwestern) and for a season.
Last season, he started four of 22 games and averaged 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 blocked shots and 0.5 steals in 14.8 minutes per game. He shot 42% from the field over the two Huskers seasons.
"Yvan is a very physical player who is a proven rebounder," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "He moves well for his size and we look for him to help fill some of the void left by Alessandro (Lever) and Asbjørn (Midtgaard)."
Ouedraogo wanted to play for Drew when the GCU head coach was leading Vanderbilt, but Drew was no longer there when it came time for Ouedraogo to sign. That bond quickly renewed when Ouedraogo entered the NCAA transfer portal this spring.
"I really trusted him and we have a good relationship," Ouedraogo said. "He's told me for a long time that he loves my versatility and the way that I can move my feet on offense and defense. GCU went to the tournament and I like the way they've been playing."
Ouedraogo was born in Bordeaux, France, and lived there until he was 7. His family moved to Burkina Faso, the West African nation where the capital city, Ouagadougou, resembles his name. He casually began playing basketball at 9, but moved back to France by himself at age 12 to attend Kameet Basketball Academy. He only trained for his first two years under coach Vincent Mbassi, vastly improving his skills to play on the team for his final year and set up the chance to attend INSEP.
Ouedraogo is currently with family in Burkina Faso and will play for France at the Under-19 World Championship this July in Latvia. His offseasons are now dedicated to staying in shape after he went from ending his 2019-20 season at 274 pounds to now weighing 245.
"I'm really aggressive," Ouedraogo said. "I've got moves. I play really fast. I move fast for my size. I'm really aggressive to the rim. I'm working on my shot and I've got pretty good ball-handling for a big. Defensively, I can switch one through five.
"I like to rebound to start the break. To start the break, you have to rebound. I like offensive rebounds even more because you get a second chance and it really hurts the other team."
Beyond Drew and basketball, Ouedraogo liked what he saw in GCU for its raucous fans, good-natured people and sunny weather.
"The fans are crazy and that's really exciting," Ouedraogo said. "I'm going to try my best to entertain the fans and help us win games."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04