As LBSU opens Big West Conference play, it will be anchored by Lassina and Aboubacar Traore, a pair of sophomore forwards who grew up half a world away in the Ivory Coast.
LONG BEACH — Aboubacar Traore and Lassina Traore both grew up playing soccer in the Ivory Coast, a common activity for kids in the West African nation.
Lassina wanted to play soccer professionally. But by age 15, he was already too tall for soccer. People started telling him to try basketball, calling him “Jordan” because of his height. He didn’t like the sport at first either.“Since that day, I decided to play basketball,” said Lassina, who has grown to 6-foot-10.
Lassina, nicknamed “Basile,” transferred from Saint Louis University and has made an immediate impact in the starting lineup alongside Aboubacar, averaging 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds in 12 nonconference games. Aboubacar was a year older, and took Lassina under his wing, half-jokingly because “we have the same last name.”
Over the offseason, Lassina told his friend that he was struggling at Saint Louis. He wasn’t getting much playing time, averaging 7.8 minutes per game. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t getting on the court.Aboubacar, joking that he couldn’t really talk about the recruiting process, knew that Lassina could contribute at LBSU. The coaches agreed.
“I’m not seeing myself as a leader,” Aboubacar said. “I see myself as someone that used to be helped a lot in the past and then trying to give the same energy to the new guys who were like me last year.”“Then the coach talks, they just have to talk one time and then we’re done,” Aboubacar said. “They laugh, joke with everybody,” George said. “Even when someone’s mad, they pick them up. They joke with them, make sure they laugh.”
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