Daouda Soumaoro on tap?

It seemed that after the commitment of God's Gift Achiuwa to St. John's, Steve Lavin and his staff would simply hold the 2 remaining scholarships for the 2012 class, where verbal commitment Jevon Thomas and potential recruits like Ricardo Gathers and Kyle Anderson wait.

Apparently, the St. John's coaching staff is still seeking to fill the remaining schollies. Read up on what's going down, below the fold.

As mentioned before God's Gift committed to St. John's, Daouda Soumaoro was scheduled for an official visit the the Queens campus, per a couple of sources. Soumaoro was visiting campus yesterday, and even mentioned it on Twitter (assuming that is his real Twitter page - it is very new). So it seems that the staff is looking to add a little more big man depth, which would go a long way to making the team seriously competitive next year.

Who is Daouda Soumaoro?

Soumaoro is 6'9" a Malian native checking in around 210-215 pounds. Many outlets mention his hustle and high motor; he is not an offensive threat but is a capable rebounder. Daouda is said to run the floor well - a must for what should be a fast, running, athletic Red Storm team - and can rebound in traffic. He's not an above the rim player, but sounds like the kind of junkyard dog every team would love to have in the post.

Can he play in the Big East? Does his recruitment mean that some player is leaving, or some player is at risk of not qualifying? The Rumble will be checking in to the recruiting, and if there's something to know, it will be posted on the site.

ESPN profile

Scout.com evaluation

Rivals.com article/ evaluation

Bonus: Want to know where the heck Mali is (don't front, you couldn't point it out on a map)? Here you go. We're full service here. It's on the west coast of the African continent, mostly situated in the dry Saharan desert - below the north African coast countries on the Mediterranean, Morocco, Libya, and Algeria.

(Map via Holt, Rinehart & Winston)

Find out more - go to the CIA factbook on Mali. And while you're at it, learn about one of the better folk/ blues musicians of recent times, the Malian Ali Farka Touré.