Kuakumensah Ivy Bound
Brown University scored a steal on Sunday night, landing a verbal commitment from St. Andrew’s big man Cedric Kuakumensah following his official visit.
“I went on the visit this weekend and just thought it was a great environment,” Kuakumensah told the New England Recruiting Report. “With everything that the school has to offer I thought it was the perfect fit.”
Brown had been recruiting Kuakumensah for the better part of the last year and was at each and every one of his games this summer according to the Worcester, Massachusetts native.
By the time the month of July had come to an end though the Bears found themselves with some newfound competition, as Kuakumensah had played his way into a plethora of scholarship offers that ranged all the way up to the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Unlike most players who look to make a name for themselves by scoring the ball, Kuakumensah took the road less traveled and in so doing proved he was the rare prospect who could truly change a game without necessarily having to score a point.
Kuakumensah was a dominant defensive presence for the Rivals all summer long, content to let guys like Zach Auguste and Noah Vonleh score the majority of the points, all the while defending the opposition’s best frontcourt player and consistently rebounding in double figures.
“That’s something that I definitely take pride in,” Kuakumensah says of his defense and rebounding. “I understand those are the things that I do well so that’s what I focus on doing.”
Those are attributes that are likely to help him crack the rotation from day one in the Ivy League as a rugged interior presence may be exactly what Brown’s line-up needs.
“They definitely said I’d have a chance to make an immediate impact,” Kuakumensah said. “They’re losing a couple of guys next year so that just opens up a hole for me to come and fit in to.”
When you’re a guy who likes to defend and rebound, fitting in is never a problem. Neither is winning and Cedric Kuakumensah has a history of doing both.