According to Blake Smith on social media, Memphis has shown interest in Arkansas State big man Aly Tounkara. The 7-foot forward started his career at Lindenwood before transferring to Arkansas State for his sophomore season.
Tounkara appeared in all 32 games, making 21 starts, and he averaged 4.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and a block in 18.2 minutes per game. The Conakry, Guinea native would give Memphis a rim protector and more size in the frontcourt.
Shooting
Tounkara shot 62.9 percent from the field last season, and 82.8 percent of his shots came at the rim. The big man averaged 2.2 offensive rebounds per game for Arkansas State, and he has shown that he can be a real threat on second-chance points.
Tounkara averages 3.9 second-chance points per 40 minutes, which ranked in the 84th percentile, and he scored 43.8 percent of his points on second-chances, which ranked in the 97th percentile.
The forward is also a lob threat and can score as the roller on pick-and-rolls. He doesn’t get to the free-throw line much, and when he does, he only shoots 36.8 percent at the charity stripe.
Playmaking
At 7-foot, Tounkara isn’t much of a playmaker, and he only averaged 0.5 assists per game. While he won’t be dishing out assists, he can find himself on the receiving end of some assists.
Rebounding
Tounkara averaged 4.7 rebounds as a freshman at Lindenwood and improved to 5.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Arkansas State. The forward is a threat on the offensive and defensive boards, and he could bring some much-needed rebounding to the Tigers’ roster.
Tounkara finished the season with an offensive rebounding percentage of 13.3 percent, which ranked in the 92nd percentile, and he had a defensive rebounding percentage of 19.8 percent, which ranked in the 83rd percentile.
The forward only averaged 18.2 minutes per game, and it’s clear he could be a bigger threat on the boards with more playing time.
Defense
Tounkara shines on the defensive end of the court, where he’s a major threat as a shot blocker. The forward averaged a block per game, and he blocked two or more shots in seven games last season, including a four-block game in late February against Southern Miss.
Tounkara has a block percentage of 6.6 percent, which ranked in the 87th percentile, and he finished the year with a 2.5 defensive regularized adjusted plus-minus, which ranked in the 93rd percentile. He also averaged 2.6 fouls per game and only fouled out of four games last season.