Chicago – Chicago State head men's basketball coach
Lance Irvin announced today that
Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Cougars men's basketball program for the 2021-22 season. Mandeng joins
Jincho Rivera in the 2021-22 men's basketball recruiting class. Rivera signed last November.
A 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward from Paris, France, Mandeng just completed his freshman and sophomore seasons at St. Petersburg (Fla.) College, competing in the Suncoast Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association, one of the top junior college leagues in the country.
"This year we were looking for someone with size and toughness to help us in rebounding and defense," Irvin said. "Teddy addresses some of those problems and proved it in one of the toughest JUCO conferences in the country. He can also score from a variety of places on the court and will really help us on the offensive end. His active energy will be contagious for our entire team. I am happy that Teddy decided to come join us at Chicago State University."
Mandeng earned all-conference honors as a freshman when he average 7.0 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. He recorded four double-doubles (points/rebounds) during his freshman campaign and registered a career high 21 points (vs. Polk State, Jan. 29, 2020) and 15 rebounds (vs. State College of Florida, Feb. 12, 2020). Mandeng is a versatile athlete who can play multiple positions and is relentless on the defensive end of the floor. During his two-year career in St. Petersburg, he averaged 6.8 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game and recorded 14 double-digit rebound games14 double-digit scoring games and six double-doubles.
Mandeng joins Jincho Rivera who signed Nov. 11, 2020. Rivera, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound forward from Carolina, Puerto Rico, attends St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, CA, where, through three games this season, is averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. He averaged a double-double as a junior, scoring 19.6 points per game while pulling down 11.1 rebounds per game.
"Jincho Rivera is someone we identified early on in the recruiting process as a player that will be able to score at a variety of levels in the backcourt," Irvin said. "One thing we have seen about Jincho is his ability to get hot and score in bunches. He has a college-ready body, and a knack for scoring which will translate quickly into our system. His toughness and discipline both on and off the court will have Chicago State fans falling in love with him quickly."
Rivera was voted the all-area MVP by the sports staffs of the
Santa Maria Times,
Lompoc Record and
Santa Ynez Valley News after the Knights finished the 2019-20 season with a 25-8 record, including 8-2 in the powerful Central Coast Athletic Conference. St. Joseph advanced to the semifinals of the CIF Central Section Division 1 Playoffs while Rivera topped the 30-point plateau four times as a junior and shot over 60 percent from the floor in each of those games, scoring a season-high 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting (63 percent).
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