BYU just pulled off one of the strangest and smartest additions in college basketball’s new world, landing former G League center Abdullah Ahmed. The 22-year-old big man, who played with the Westchester Knicks, has been cleared by the NCAA and will bring two or three years of eligibility to Provo. He picked BYU over Houston, and honestly, it’s a massive get for Kevin Young’s staff.
Let’s not sugarcoat it, this whole thing feels bizarre. A guy who already spent time in the G League is now set to suit up for a college team like it’s no big deal. The NCAA just kind of shrugged and said, “Yeah, sure.” And maybe that’s the bigger story here. Rules don’t matter anymore. There are no real guardrails. But if that’s the game, you might as well play it better than anyone else, and BYU just did.
Ahmed isn’t some stat-stuffing unicorn, but what he brings is hard to teach. He’s 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and was known for shot blocking and interior presence in limited minutes at the professional level. BYU needs size and rim protection, and he gives them that from Day One. He’s older, more physically mature, and has already played against grown men. That’s not nothing.
Picking BYU over Houston also says a lot. Houston’s been one of the toughest programs in the country over the last few years, and if you’re picking the Cougars with the Y instead of the ones in red, you’re clearly buying into what Kevin Young is building. It’s the kind of decision that turns heads around the Big 12, and it should.
The real question now is how quickly Ahmed can get acclimated. College ball is still a different beast with different expectations and a very different pace. But BYU isn’t bringing him in to sit. They needed help with the paint, and they just got a 22-year-old who’s seen more than most kids in the portal. Now, when he’s officially able to take the court is above our pay grade because no one really knows how eligibility works anymore. He may play at the end of the semester, or he may play next year, but it’s still too early to tell.
It’s weird. It’s unconventional. But it’s the new norm. BYU didn’t make the rules, but they’re playing them better than most. Adding Abdullah Ahmed is proof of that.
