Sidi Gueye didn’t start playing basketball till he was 12 years old. Despite getting a little late into the sport, it did not take long for the 6-foot-11 forward from Senegal to get noticed.
Gueye has been playing for Real Madrid in Spain since 2021. He was named to the all-tournament team at the Adidas Next Gen U18 Euroleague finals, averaging 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
He committed to Tommy Lloyd and Arizona back in April and is slated to be one of the youngest players in the country heading into this season. He adds to the long list of international recruits who have committed to Lloyd.
NEWS: Real Madrid’s Sidi Gueye has committed to Arizona, he told ESPN.The 6’11, 17-year old Senegalese forward with a 7’4 wingspan made his Euroleague and ACB debuts last October. Highly versatile defender. STORY: https://t.co/0BYZCDRAOwpic.twitter.com/Fq8elxncYM
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 30, 2025
- “I think it’s part of the process and it was more late than we had hoped,” Gueye said on what took him so long to come to the United States to play basketball. “The most important thing is that I’m here right now and I’m so excited to start.”
Summer is officially over. The boys are back! 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nSFJlyBqQI
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) August 25, 2025
While playing professional basketball overseas can help Gueye, he also touched on the differences in it compared to college basketball, which include the speed of the game…