MBB News: Khayat Departs

So, a little July news from basketball, Youssef Khayat has left the program to play professionally in Lebanon, which is his home.

He played two years at Michigan, transferred to BG.  Last year, played 6 games and 5 starts before a season-ending injury.  He averaged 8.5 points per game.

Best of luck to him.  On we go!

Football Verbal

BG has another football verbal...this one is Kingston Seals, an ATH from the Buckeye State.  He is from Shaker Heights and plays HS at the Gilmour Academy.  He is listed as playing DL, EDGE, LB, TE and WR in various forums.

He's 6'3" and 205, and mostly mentioned as a LB.

He has a dozen offers---D1 offers from Syracuse, BG and Kent....and a wide variety of FCS schools.

He was second-team all-district as a LB, with career stats as follow: SOLO 34, TOT 63, TPG 4.2, SCK 3.

Welcome to the Falcons, Kingston!

Alijah Adem expected to return to BG

BG announced the numbers for the players on the men's basketball roster, and included in what was a pretty ordinary post is that #31 will be Alijah Adem.

Alijah reminded us all that these are human beings wearing our uniforms.  Just before the season was set to start, his Father, Uncle and younger sisters were all killed in a house fire in their home in Las Vegas.  This is a horrifying tragedy that none of us can even imagine living through. People never cease to amaze me with their resilience.

For obvious reasons, he did not make it to BG that year.  The good news is that he is expected back at BG.  We forget about it, but when the 24-25 season is counted down, all the injuries were piled on top of this.

Adem went to Spring Valley HS.  He was a highly productive player in Nevada and the Falcons were hoping to see him play a major role.  Here were some of the highlights.

• Broke the school record for points
• Named MaxPrep Player of the Year
• Received McDonald’s All-America and Gatorade Player of the Year nominations
• Named one of the top seven players in the state of Nevada
• Earned First-Team All-State and Scholar Athlete honors
• Averaged 26 points and 7.8 assists per game
• Led the state of Nevada in assists per game (7.8) and free throw percentage (89%).

We are four months away, roughly.  Our opener with be in the Sun Belt Challenge against Texas State, at the Stroh.

Three More Football Verbals

The verbals have continued to roll in for BG....these three from the Midwest, including two from Ohio and one from Illinois.

Joshua Smith, WR Africentric.

He's 6'5" from Columbus where he attends Africentric HS.  This class already includes Deron Grey, a TE from Africentric. Unranked, he has offers from WMU, UB, CMU, KSU, Miami, UT and YSU.

In HS, he played QB.  He was 3rd-team All-state (Divison V) and first-team All-District.  He was a highly effective player, going 113-168 for 67 percent, 26 TDs 4 ints, and 2K+ all purpose yards.  Also played basketball with some eye-popping athletic plays.  Special mention all-state in hoops.

Pauly Sadler, WR, Glenville

He is 6'0" and 175 pounds, and hails from Glenville HS, where he was coached by Tedd Ginn Sr., Mr. Buckeye himself.  Maybe BG will more Glenville players, where they have been state champs in '22 and '23.

Unranked, Sadler had offers from UMass, UA, BSU, KSU, Liberty, Troy and WMU, along with over a half-dozen FCS offers. 18 Catches, 4 touchdowns, 400 yards, 145 YAC,  20 yards per catch and 24% target share.

He also ran track for Glenville where the Tarblooders area a true powerhouse---18 State Titles.

Kendall Griffin, DB

He is a 6'1 DB from Morgan Park HS, in Chicago, IL. Also unranked, he had offers from UB, CMU, Miami, NIU, UT, WMU, Wyoming, and 6 FCS teams. 

Welcome to the Falcons!