WSU men’s basketball freshman Mouhamed Gueye won his second PAC-12 Freshman of The Week Award for his efforts against Stanford and UC Berkeley. Gueye was announced as the freshman of the week on Monday.

During the week, Gueye posted 16 points, going 8-13 from the field. Gueye also added 11 rebounds, five of which were offensive against Stanford in a 62-57 losing effort. This was Gueye’s first conference game double-double and his second career double-double. He also posted two blocks against Stanford for his sixth game with two or more blocks. This was both Gueye’s highest shot-attempt game and highest made-shot percentage game. 

Gueye’s previous high was against nonconference opponent Weber State in early December when he went 7-12 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 34-point blowout victory over the Wildcats.

After the Stanford loss, the Cougars hosted the Cal Golden Bears. Despite fouling out in the contest and playing only 23 minutes, Gueye shot 3-7 from the field and 3-5 from the free-throw line for nine points. He also had eight rebounds, with five being offensive. Gueye once again added two blocks to his stat line as the Cougars defeated Cal 65-57.

This past week was arguably Gueye’s best week of his young freshman career. Gueye showed patience against Stanford and let the game come to him while focusing on his strengths and growing into his role on the floor. He was busy on the offensive rebounding end against both Stanford and Cal, asserting his presence on the floor and using his 6-foot-11 frame to grab any ball that came his way. 

It is worth noting after Gueye’s breakout week that he reclassified to the 2021 graduating class out of high school after finishing academic requirements early at Prolific Prep High School in California. 

Before reclassifying, Gueye was ranked as the No. 34 recruit for the 2022 class. He averaged 9.5 points and 11 rebounds at Prolific Prep in his final season, leading his team to a 30-4 regular season. Gueye then headed to the GEICO Nationals tournament and lost in the quarterfinals to Sunrise Christian Hoops.  

Notable alumni of Prolific Prep include Josh Jackson, who was selected fourth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Gary Trent Jr., who was selected in the second round in 2018 and Gueye’s former teammate at Prolific Prep, Jalen Green, who was selected second overall in 2021.

Gueye is averaging 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the floor this season. Against conference opponents, Gueye is averaging 7.8 points per game and 6.1 rebounds. Gueye also has two or more blocks in three of the six conference games he has played this season. 

This is Gueye’s second time receiving the PAC-12 Freshman Of The Week Award. Gueye previously won the award in November. He is now the first Cougar to win the award multiple times in a season since the award was created during the 2019-20 season.