Freshman Sene begins settling in at UVa

Assane Sene, the oldest of six children, grew up playing soccer in Senegal. Since nobody in his family is particularly tall, he figured that would be his sport.
But then Sene sprouted.
“I knew I was getting tall and people said, ‘You have to play basketball because of your height,’” Sene explained. “I gave up soccer and started playing basketball.”
A few years later, Sene was recruited by South Kent Preparatory School in Connecticut. The school brought him to the United States. They gave him a scholarship. This fall, Sene will be playing in the ACC as a freshman at Virginia.
“I’m very happy to be here,” said Sene, who chose UVa over Connecticut and Syracuse. “I like my school. I like my teammates. I like my coaches. So I’m just enjoying the summer. I’m getting used to working out and also getting used to classes.”
Nobody is happier to have Sene in the fold than Virginia coach Dave Leitao.
Ever since Leitao came aboard three years ago, he’s had a dearth of skilled big men. Now, with Sene and fellow incoming freshman John Brandenburg, he has two guys totaling about 14 feet.
One of the most exciting things about the 7-foot Sene — in addition to his impressive wingspan (his arms look longer than most people’s legs) — is his upside.
“Assane is still developing as a player,” Leitao said. “He’s worked so hard at rebounding and defense — he has a natural knack in those areas, which usually come first with an international player.
“He also possesses the ability, because he has a terrific touch and feel on offense, to become a really good offensive player.”
Sene has only been playing basketball for five years — and for only about a year in the United States. That’s one of the reasons he was only rated as a 3-out-of-5 star prospect by the main recruiting services.
Virginia assistant coach Bill Courtney — who only began recruiting Sene during UVa’s 2007 Elite Camp — has no doubt that Sene will be able to improve by leaps and bounds during his college career.
“He plays harder than anybody else,” Courtney said. “He plays harder than any big guy I’ve ever seen. He’s improved in just a year a great deal. He has a great work ethic and is a tremendous kid — one of the best.”
Sene’s new teammates have already been pretty impressed.
“He’s long,” said incoming freshman Sylven Landesberg. “He can do a lot of things — block shots, rebound. He gets a lot of easy baskets because he gets those offensive boards.”
Sene, along with Landesberg and Brandenburg, recently took part in Virginia’s annual Elite Camp at John Paul Jones Arena.
The big men put on an impressive shotblocking display. During one scrimmage, Sene swatted a Brandenburg shot in the lane.
“It was fun,” said Sene, whose favorite NBA player is Kevin Garnett. “Every time I play against him I try and get [a block] on him because I know he has my same height and I know right now that everywhere you go in the [ACC] you will see big guys like him.
“I need to play well against him in order to improve my game.”
While Sene is clearly much further along in his defense and rebounding than he is in shooting the basketball, the lefthander seems to have the tools to develop a nice offensive repertoire. On one sequence, he posted his defender up, then executed a pretty step-back jumper from the baseline.
Brandenburg was pretty impressed with Sene’s game.
“He’s really athletic,” Brandenburg said. “When he gets a little bit stronger, I think he’s going to be really good.”
Sene says that’s one of his biggest objectives before the season gets going. With renowned strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown in the weight room — Brown has worked for the NBA’s Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors — Sene should have no problem packing on some muscle to his sinewy 220-pound frame.
“Every time I play with someone, like Jerome [Meyinsse] I know he’s stronger than me and Tunji, I know he’s stronger than me,” Sene said. “Nobody has to tell me that I have to go to the gym. I know that myself.
“I know I need to gain weight in order to improve my game. You need to be strong so you can finish around the basket. I’m trying to gain weight. That’s how I know I can improve my game.”
One of the things that should help ease Sene’s transition to Virginia is the presence of fellow African Solomon Tat, a Nigeria native. Sene and Tat, who are both fluent in a number of languages, have already formed a great friendship.
Tat was Sene’s host when he made his official visit to Virginia last fall.
“He’s a really good guy,” Tat said. “We’re glad to have him because he’s a tough kid. He’s aggressive and I enjoy playing with him.
“I’ll be there for him and help him get more comfortable and through school and stuff like that. We hang out a lot together.”
Sene says he misses his family a lot. However, he understands that being away from them is necessary if he wants to attain his ultimate goal — a career in the NBA.
“I haven’t seen them since I’ve been [in the United States],” Sene said. “It’s kind of hard, but I’m trying to do my best because now I know what I want. [NBA] is my goal. That’s why I’m trying to play hard and try and improve my game.”