Committed Or Not To LSU

It was just on April 22nd that Russ Blake reported that LSU had landed a talented small forward in Regis Koundjia. But has something changed since then?

RivalsHoops.com was treated to a surprise at the IS8 league last week when the Queens Rim Rockers/Exodus AAU team enlisted a sleeper out of the class of 2003 who shook up their match-up with the Brooklyn-Queens aka Sonday Express.

Regis, a rangy 6-8, 200-pound small forward from the Laurinburg Institute via the Republic of Central Africa, poured in 31 points in his IS8 debut, doing everything in his power to help Exodus stay afloat. Koundjia, a junior, showed a soft shooting touch, knocking down three three-pointers, proved capable of putting it on the deck for points, and also showed that he was an able distributor and passer. He also showed a competent handle.

And the crew Koundjia did his damage against wasn't exactly a bunch of slouches. Sonday enlisted Tennessee-bound wing John Winchester and Seton Hall pledge Eric Davis, while also featuring the usual suspects, like Christ the King junior point guard

Japhet McNeil and St. Raymond's junior point guard Daon Merritt. Regardless, no one succeeded in containing Koundgia.

Koundjia sports a game that bears similarities to Blair Academy's Charlie Villanueva with respect to his versatility. Like Villanueva, Koundgia's offensive

repertoire is based almost entirely on face-the-basket moves. He doesn't appear to be as athletic as Villanueva, but is probably more consistent spotting up from three, and a better passer. Villanueva is the stronger of the two.

Koundjia compares favorably to Our Savior New American's(Centereach, NY) Oumar Sylla, a former Valparaiso commit and mid to high major prospect, having about a two-inch height advantage, a quicker release on his

shot, and better passing skills.

Koundjia likely predicts as a top 50 national prospect in the class of 2003. He will play this summer with the DC Assault AAU program and may moonlight with the New York based Exodus AAU program.

Koundjia told us his recruiting process is still open. He also told us that he is interested in attending North Carolina.