Q & A with hoops recruit Ismael Sanogo

_With the 2013-14 Penn basketball slowly approaching, coach Jerome Allen and his staff are looking for the next set of recruits to join the Quakers.

After Jack Williams’ visit in May, more possible class of 2018 recruits have been hosted by Penn’s coaching staff in an attempt to woo them to come to Penn. In mid-June, the Red and Blue had Newark East Side (N.J.) forward Ismael Sanogo on campus for a visit.

On Sunday, the DP spoke with Sanogo and talked to him about his thoughts on Penn, his talent on the court and his place in the recruiting process.
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Daily Pennsylvanian: With your visit on the weekend of June 13, what did you do while at Penn and what was your impression of everything during your stay?

Ismael Sanogo: We got a nice tour of the campus — a nice view of all the buildings and all the housing. They gave us a lot of facts on the school. We basically played three or four games each day and I liked it a lot. It was pretty good.

DP: What is your relationship with the coaching staff?

IS: Coach Allen, he seems like a real cool guy. I think I have a good relationship with him but my relationship with coach Ira Bowman might be better. Coach Allen and him are real cool.

DP: How would you characterize your relationship with coach Bowman?

IS: He’s like a real cool coach, someone I can really connect with. Coach Ira has been the one calling me and he calls me whenever he can, not too often but just enough so I don’t get annoyed. He seems like a very cool guy. Actually, the first time I met coach Allen was on Penn’s campus — all the other times I was with coach Bowman.

DP: How would you describe your playing style, especially your strengths and weaknesses?

IS: I like getting up and down the court. I like playing a quick paced game. A lot of people don’t know if I’m a four or a three as of now, but you can say I’m continuously getting better. You’ll be able to tell I’m a clear-cut three by the start of the summer and my strengths would be rebounding, mid-range shooting and slashing. My weakness would be my left-hand dribble and attacking with my left hand, as well as my range on my shot.

DP: How did your junior season go at Newark East Side and what can you improve going into your senior season?

IS: First off, me and my teammates are like family — we do everything together so we have a real strong bond. We played strong defense as a team but the problems were on offense. We won our state championship and made it to the [New Jersey Tournament of Champions]. Our problems were our offensive scoring.

We really only had one person score and to improve next year, everyone on our team has the ability to score but I think that I’ll take on the role as a scorer. Before this year, I was not trying to score as much and I would get my teammates involved more. I’ll still try to do that but I’ll try to score more so we can get going.

DP: Now that we are well into summer tournaments, can you tell me what team you are playing for and how the team has been doing over the summer?

IS: I play with the New Jersey Roadrunners with [Sandy Pyonin] as coach. We are actually a very talented team. We have a lot of scouts and coaches following our team. We have Chris Silver — an athletic forward — and we also have Asante Gist, who is also very good. We had some bumps where we should of beat teams that we lost to but overall, I think we are gonna be a very good team. We can beat any team out there.

DP: Do you have a current list of schools recruiting you and do you have a list of offers from among those teams?

IS: I have offers from UPenn, Buffalo, Wagner, Seton Hall, Delaware and George Mason. I have interest from West Virginia and Creighton, but right now, that’s it.

DP: Has Penn stood out in any characteristic compared to the other schools thus far?

IS: I can’t say they have, but they are one of the schools that is trying most. They are really trying to get me to go there.

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