By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s search for more frontcourt talent could include shot-blocking phenom Mouhamed “Momo” Faye.
At 6–10 and 223 pounds, the Senegalese center plays for the Paris Basketball team in France’s LNB Élite and the EuroLeague, and is one reported target for Coach Michael Malone. Faye just turned 21 in February, making him older than UNC frontcourt newcomers Maximo Adams (18), Sayon Keita (18) and Cade Bennerman (19).
Faye (pronounced fye; rhymes with sky) was a projected second-round pick last June when he withdrew from the 2025 NBA draft.
Born in Dakar, Senegal, Faye grew up playing soccer, and did not start getting serious about basketball until he discovered a court near a soccer field in 2018. In 2021, Andrea Menozzi, a scout for the Pallacanestro Reggiana team in Italy, spotted him. That led to an opportunity in Italy, a move that required leaving home for the first time.
“The thing that struck immediately was his physicality,” Menozzi said in a story on the FIBA website. “I asked to see him again the following day; we worked together a little more.” Menozzi later wrote a note, saying: “We should seriously consider him.”
Faye described the decision to make the move.
“I was able to impress, and I got the call from Italy,” Faye said in that story. “They explained the idea to me, the club’s philosophy and the project. It was a tough decision between living my basketball dream and staying at home with my family. I had never left my place before. But we all accepted the challenge.”
Once he arrived, Faye moved through Reggiana’s pipeline quickly, eventually debuting with the first team and earning a league reputation as one of the best young bigs in Italy.
He played 37 games for Reggiana in 2023–24, averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 18.2 minutes per game, winning the LBA Best Young Player (2024), eventually appearing on NBA draft boards and, now, on college staffs’ international short lists.
Faye’s development is linked to Coach Dimitris Priftis, who emphasized the learning curve of going from youth basketball to a game with emphasis on the pick-and-roll.
“He’s a smart person who understands quickly what he has to do; you don’t need to tell him one thing a million times,” Priftis said of Faye. “He’s a quick learner. As long as you keep things simple, he can do it better and better.”
Playing 38 of his 63 games this season in the EuroLeague with an average age of 29, he averaged 4.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and a block playing 17 minutes per game and shooting 65.2% from the floor.
At age 16 in the U17 AfroBasket, he averaged 18.2 points and 13.7 rebounds over six games.
NBA Draft Room calls Faye “a strong, physical big man who plays an old-school game,” adding that, “He does all of his damage in the paint,” and that he brings value as “a rebounder, defender, screen-setter and rim-runner.”
NBA Scouting Live described him as a “high-motor player” who can “set hard screens, roll to the rim, and score on powerful dunks,” while also noting he is a “solid shot-blocker.”
The latter would be valuable for Malone as he tries to quickly build a frontcourt identity that, as he said in his introductory press conference, start with defense.
NBA Scouting Live lists several developmental needs, including that he “must extend his shooting range,” and labels him an “abysmal free-throw shooter” (54.3% this season), while also saying he needs to improve his face-up game and playmaking.
In a 2024 BasketNews interview, Faye talked about pursuing an NBA career.
“It’s a dream, for sure, but I think it’s a possible dream,” he said. “I feel like if I keep working hard, I can get to the level, so I believe it can happen. But I don’t want it to become a do-or-die kind of thing for me.”
The appeal for Carolina is clear. According to scouting summaries, Faye projects as a pick-and-roll finisher who rebounds, runs and blocks shots, with an offense most comfortable in the paint but with a skill set that still needs polish at the free-throw line and beyond the arc.
He would be the second Carolina player from Senegal, after Makhtar N’Diaye, who played two seasons for the Tar Heels in the late 1990s.
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| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maxi Adams | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alex Samodurov (SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
Photos courtesy of FIBA
