NCAA Wing Yessoufou Heads to St. John’s With Reported $6 Million NIL Deal
ncaa-wing-yessoufou-heads-to-st-johns-with-reported-6-million-nil-deal
New York — Tounde Yessoufou, projected as a possible first-round selection after his freshman season at Baylor, has pulled out of the 2026 NBA Draft and will transfer to St. John’s for his sophomore year, according to multiple reports.
College basketball insider Adam Zagoria said the 20-year-old forward from Benin landed an NIL package worth nearly $6 million from the Red Storm. The figure is roughly equivalent to the first-year salary slotted for the No. 11 pick in the 2026 draft, though rookie-scale contracts carry two guaranteed seasons with team options in years three and four.
Yessoufou averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.6 assists over 34 games for Baylor in 2025-26, shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from three and 74.6 percent at the line.
Free-Agent Board Updated
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report released a refreshed ranking of 70 potential 2026 free agents. Heat wing Norman Powell sits at No. 10, with Sixers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. at No. 20 and Cavaliers forward Dean Wade at No. 30.
Gambling Case Names Former NBA Guard
Marves Fairley, who pleaded guilty Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to seven felony counts tied to two gambling schemes, testified that he paid an unnamed Chinese Basketball Association player to influence the outcome of two CBA games in March 2023. Prosecutors identified that player as former NBA guard Antonio Blakeney, who faces a wire-fraud charge filed in January.
NBA Eyes Automated Reviews
Commissioner Adam Silver told The Pat McAfee Show that the league plans to introduce an AI-driven system to swiftly adjudicate out-of-bounds calls, removing the decision from on-court officials. Silver added that all objective rulings are expected to move under similar automated review in the future.
Source: Hoops Rumors
