N’Diaye to Play for Ivory Coast at African Qualifiers July 2-5
Jun 30, 2026 | Men's Basketball
The 7-footer is in his first season at K-State after stints at UNLV and Xavier.
Pronounced POP En-jie
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior forward Pape N'Diaye will compete for his home country of Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) at the upcoming African Qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, July 2-5.
The Ivory Coast is one of 16 national teams competing for five spots for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, which will include 80 teams from four FIBA zones (AfroBasket, AmeriCup, Asia Cup and EuroBasket). Only host country Qatar has qualified for the event.
The 16 African national teams will play 24 games over the 4-day period in the cities of Dakar, Senegal, Douala, Cameroon and Luanda, Angola. Affectionately referred to as the Elephants, the Ivory Coast will play in Group B against the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo DR), Madagascar and host Senegal at the Marius Ndiaye Gymnasium in Dakar.
The Elephants (3-0) will open play against Senegal (2-1) on Thursday (July 2) before matchups against Congo DR (1-2) on Saturday (July 4) and Madagascar (0-3) on Sunday (July 5).
The Ivory Coast leads Group B with 6 points, followed by Senegal (5), Congo DR (4) and Madagascar (3). The three best-placed teams from each group will advance to the next round.
All the games of the African Qualifiers are available live and on-demand via DAZN's Courtside 1891 platform online. Subscriptions are available in the U.S. with prices ranging from $9.99 per month and can be streamed on smart TVs, mobile devices or computers.
A 7-foot, 230-pound forward originally from Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, N'Diaye is in his first season at K-State after having played in 61 games with one start in his time at UNLV (2024-25) and Xavier (2025-26). He posted 62 blocks in those 61 games played to go with 2.4 points on 55.1 percent (59-of-107) shooting to go with 3.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.
N'Diaye saw action in 29 of 33 games for Xavier this past season, where he recorded the second-most blocks (28) on the team despite playing less than 10 minutes per game. He twice scored a season-best 10 points, both in BIG EAST play, going 4-of-5 from the field in the opener with Creighton on Dec. 17 before hitting on 4-of-6 field goals vs. Seton Hall on March 3.
N'Diaye started his college career at UNLV in 2024-25, where he played in 32 of 33 games with one start for head coach Kevin Kruger and current K-State assistant coach John Cooper. He averaged 2.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 13.1 minutes per game as a true freshman.
N'Diaye attended both Red Rock Academy and Trinity International High School in Las Vegas, where he was rated among the top 100 players in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, including the No. 15 overall center. He also played AAU with the Las Vegas Knicks.
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior forward Pape N'Diaye will compete for his home country of Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) at the upcoming African Qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, July 2-5.
The Ivory Coast is one of 16 national teams competing for five spots for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, which will include 80 teams from four FIBA zones (AfroBasket, AmeriCup, Asia Cup and EuroBasket). Only host country Qatar has qualified for the event.
The 16 African national teams will play 24 games over the 4-day period in the cities of Dakar, Senegal, Douala, Cameroon and Luanda, Angola. Affectionately referred to as the Elephants, the Ivory Coast will play in Group B against the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo DR), Madagascar and host Senegal at the Marius Ndiaye Gymnasium in Dakar.
The Elephants (3-0) will open play against Senegal (2-1) on Thursday (July 2) before matchups against Congo DR (1-2) on Saturday (July 4) and Madagascar (0-3) on Sunday (July 5).
The Ivory Coast leads Group B with 6 points, followed by Senegal (5), Congo DR (4) and Madagascar (3). The three best-placed teams from each group will advance to the next round.
All the games of the African Qualifiers are available live and on-demand via DAZN's Courtside 1891 platform online. Subscriptions are available in the U.S. with prices ranging from $9.99 per month and can be streamed on smart TVs, mobile devices or computers.
A 7-foot, 230-pound forward originally from Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, N'Diaye is in his first season at K-State after having played in 61 games with one start in his time at UNLV (2024-25) and Xavier (2025-26). He posted 62 blocks in those 61 games played to go with 2.4 points on 55.1 percent (59-of-107) shooting to go with 3.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.
N'Diaye saw action in 29 of 33 games for Xavier this past season, where he recorded the second-most blocks (28) on the team despite playing less than 10 minutes per game. He twice scored a season-best 10 points, both in BIG EAST play, going 4-of-5 from the field in the opener with Creighton on Dec. 17 before hitting on 4-of-6 field goals vs. Seton Hall on March 3.
N'Diaye started his college career at UNLV in 2024-25, where he played in 32 of 33 games with one start for head coach Kevin Kruger and current K-State assistant coach John Cooper. He averaged 2.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 13.1 minutes per game as a true freshman.
N'Diaye attended both Red Rock Academy and Trinity International High School in Las Vegas, where he was rated among the top 100 players in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, including the No. 15 overall center. He also played AAU with the Las Vegas Knicks.
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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