Freshman big man Fousseyni Traore wasn’t supposed to be a major part of BYU’s rotation before the season started. BYU was returning senior big men Richard Harward and Gavin Baxter, so Fouss went into the year with a great opportunity to learn from both of them. Harward was out before the season began with a heart issue and Gavin suffered a torn ACL December 1, meaning Fouss was fully thrust into the fire.
Fouss has responded better than anyone could have anticipated, leading BYU in rebounds (7.8), blocks (1.4), and third in scoring (8.1) while shooting 52% from the floor and 77% from the foul line 20 games into BYU’s season.