The rim dominator: Meet the 20-year-old Momo Faye

REGGIO EMILIA (Italy) - Andrea Menozzi likes to witness talent in person. To discover what’s behind names.

That’s why his trips near Dakar are becoming less a rarity, and more a frequent occasion, to give unparalleled opportunities to Senegalese talents, possibly moving to Reggio Emilia.

In 2021, he did exactly that. But one guy wasn't expected to be there.

"The thing that struck immediately was his physicality. I asked to see him again the following day, we worked together a little more," Pallacanestro Reggiana's head of the youth department recalls.

Returning to Italy, his report to the club featured one specific name circled with the red pen, linked to a comment:

And they did so.

A few weeks later, following calls from Italy to Senegal and vice versa, Mouhamed Faye landed in Milan with Andrea Menozzi ready to pick him up.

His new basketball life in the heart of Northern Italy had just begun.

Quick learner, fast grower

Before 2021, nobody saw Mouhamed Faye - but let's just call him Momo, as everybody does walk around PalaBigi, or Piazza Prampolini - coming. Literally.

Most of the red-and-white fans' attention was caught by another Momo, Diouf. He grew by time and opportunities with the Italian side in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the Basketball Champions League, before experiencing Spain with Rio Breogan.

When another Dakar-born center, four years younger, emerged in pre-game shootarounds and routines, it felt like a reminiscence.

The man behind his first moments of responsibility on the court speaks Greek, and he had never experienced coaching in Italy before 2023.

"We had no idea how it would be. The previous season, Momo was out of Reggio's program, playing with a young team: totally different demands style of working as far as the daily job and tactic-wise," Dimitris Priftis remembers.

As understood, the first thoughts were linked to uncertainty regarding how the 2005-born freak athlete would have translated his potential into an effective adjustment.

"It was a completely unknown chapter for Momo, something totally new. I initially had some hesitation. I kept asking myself: how would it be with him to play an important role in the team?"

If there are two trustworthy men in the Greek head coach's career, those are one of his current players (Jamar Smith) and the club's general manager (Claudio Coldebella).

He chose to trust the experienced Italian basketball geek.

"We discussed with Claudio Coldebella from the beginning, and he proposed to give him the right space to develop, seeing if he deserved in the future to be the prospect he is right now," Reggiana's head coach says.

Two years in the making, Mouhamed Faye's name is present on several NBA Draft boards. But he keeps being the humble and smiling guy coming from Senegal.

While his attitude and personality haven't changed despite gaining more attention worldwide, he has surely made technical improvements. Andrea Menozzi knows how raw he was when he first met him 5450 km from Reggio Emilia.

"[He has improved] a lot. Now even on free throws, which was the aspect of his game on which he had to work the most. Whoever sees him shoot now has no idea how it was when he arrived: it was much worse as he had a really complex shooting mechanic. We had to first deconstruct and rebuild it."

But Momo's different. He stands out.

"He is a very intelligent, helpful, mature, and serious guy. His attitude has helped him a lot to overcome the difficulties he had, especially regarding his technical improvement path, which he still hadn't done yet."

"With attention, application, and availability, he has managed to recover such a natural gap in a rather impressive way," Menozzi follows.

Coach Priftis noticed his developments first-hand.

"He is still improving, working on certain things in his technique, to become more plastic and his hands to be softer. He needs to continue working and become better technically," he says.

"Momo has one unique phenomenon: although he looks very clumsy sometimes, for some reason he has a way to score the hooks he needs to make. He needs to make improvements on shooting free throws. He has made huge (improvements), but he needs more: it's an essential part of the game for every big man."

Naturally, his positive attitude linked to a pure instinct to move on the court and certain improvements on fundamentals couldn't lead to anything but answers. Before jumping to the BCL, he made his presence felt in the LBA.

"Pretty soon, he started to respond well. Combining with some positive results we had at the beginning of the season, he gave us the right confidence to continue with this plan," Priftis looks back at Faye's first professional encounters.

“

Momo is a smart person who understands quickly what he has to do; you don’t need to tell him one thing a million times. He’s a quick learner. As long as you keep things simple, he can do it better and better.

Suddenly jumping from youth basketball to specific matchups on the highest levels in Europe isn't something you can take for granted. Especially if you, as a rising and upcoming center, need to be the team's offensive and defensive focal point.

"In the youth program we had, the style of game is less pick-and-roll oriented. He has been playing pick-and-roll, offensively and defensively, only for one and a half year. It was mostly something new for him, but as it happens with every person who's a good athlete and has natural and physical abilities, things can be easier."

"He's a smart person who understands quickly what he has to do; you don't need to tell him one thing a million times. He's a quick learner. As long as you keep things simple, he can do it better and better. Of course, there is a lot of space and room for improvement. That's still not enough," coach comments, looking ahead.

"Right now, at 20, he has something very few have: playing time with responsibility, not garbage time. Playing time when things are on the edge and there's stress. He's on a good path right now."

Needed and responsible playing time doesn't come alone. You need a head coach ready to give you the tools to be impactful and then value from up close if you're making the best out of his confidence and trust.

"The coach has contributed a lot to how I am as a player now. This is my first experience as a professional athlete, with a first-level team. He is indeed my first head coach," Faye underlines.

"He always tried to put me in my place, giving me so much advice that I may need in the future," the 20-year-old center added.

The future looks bright, especially if you're surrounded by somebody leading the way.

"It has been important that in these two years, he has had good surroundings around him, with nice people and examples," Reggiana's head coach says.

Sticking under the rim, Momo Faye found veteran partners. Last year it was Tarik Black, in December 2024 it was about unleashing The Manimal.

"As a club, both years we tried to put somebody experienced next to him, who has the knowledge of the game and a good personality: last year with Tarik Black and this year with Kenneth Faried."

Getting motor from The Manimal

Kenneth Faried is one of those players who brings nostalgia back.

Thinking of him competing in Denver or jumping all over the place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 with Team USA hits differently.

The opportunity of seeing him in Italy arose, and it was only a matter of time.

When he got told he could also be a breeder for this 20-year-old center, the opportunity intrigued him even more.

"When I came here, in my first practice I saw how raw he still was and a lot of potential he still had. He just has to understand certain things with basketball. He's got to keep pushing, keep going, don't stop," Faried opens up.

"He has to stop quitting, when you're ready to quit, that's when you're probably going to reach your goal. You have to keep pushing through."

At the end of the day, that's the mentality that has dragged him throughout not only a decade-long route in the NBA, but also in every imaginable angle you can think of where hoop: Russia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the tiny Reggio Emilia.

"I’m trying to give him my motor. A lot of people say it's very hard to teach energy, that heart, that grit, but I believe [it's possible] if you give the guy confidence and showcase it time and time again. He can go out there and actually do it," Faried said.

"I tell him, 'Hey, look. This is what you did in this number of seconds and look how dominant you were for our game and during this period.' I want him to know what he did in a minute, we need him to do it for four minutes, three minutes throughout the game. Then it graduates to five, to ten, to twenty minutes."

"I'm trying to teach him the mindset to be at that next level. And that's what he's starting to understand," Kenneth comments on teaching Faye that mentality.

"In our home game against Bonn, he started the third quarter dominating: dunks, blocks, dunks, blocks. That's the mindset I'm trying to instill in him. Don't think layup, don't think hook shot. Think dunk first. Think: be aggressive, be strong, dunk, finish everything on somebody's head."

"Your first impression must be 'I'm dominating, I'm here to dominate, I'm here to dunk on everybody, I'm here to scare everybody out of the paint.' Once that happens, everything else is going to come easy," The Manimal unleashes.

That home game against Bonn was a historic one for a city that for more than 50 years has seen basketball flowing through its veins.

By sweeping the 2023 BCL Champions in the Play-Ins, Pallacanestro Reggiana made their way into their first-ever Round of 16. Without Momo's contribution close to the rim, it would've likely been postponed.

Such sequence at the beginning of the second half is the literal translation of what Kenneth Faried is aiming to transmit to the Senegalese talent.

"Having Faried around is very important. He's a great person, on and off the court. He always tries to put me in the right place, telling me what I should do according to the experiences he lived. I'm very proud to be playing and to be able to learn from a veteran like him," Momo Faye comments on The Manimal.

Just like what has happened in the past and what's still happening today to the former Denver Nuggets veteran, Reggiana's #11 transforms from when he's off the court to when he tightens the jersey around his long-limbed muscular body.

"He's like I was when I was young, and as I still am a happy, outgoing person. He loves the game. But when you come to the court, it's a different story. I don't care if you're my best friend if you’re my brother, sister: when we're in between those lines, we're playing basketball," Faried mentions.

"I'm going to go at you the way I think is best for me to not just intimidate you but put my impression on the game. I'm not really worried if you're intimidated by me. I'm worried about how I'm impacting the game and us winning."

"Momo has to think about impacting the game and dominate, even if he's on the bench cheering for a teammate. He needs to bring energy and be a presence in order to dominate the game. He needs to make sure his name is Momo and he's there to dominate this grown man's game. You got to play like it," The Manimal continues.

The same way he was dominating at the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2022, where he averaged a thunderous double-double of 18.2 points and 13.7 rebounds, shooting 70.8 percent from two over 10.8 attempts per game in six encounters.

Denisio Adjivon, head coach of that Senegalese national team back then, remembers he witnessed something great:

"His correctness, his discipline, his commitment and his spirit of solidarity… That's why I named him captain of the team."

A similar kind of dominance was displayed at the 2023 ANGT Finals in Kaunas, coached by former Reggiana's player Petteri Koponen, where he put up 19.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game - including a 33-point, 11-rebound, 52-performance index rating night against Zalgiris.

"You play with all the best talents in Europe, and participating as a young athlete is very important for your growth. I was lucky to have Petteri Koponen as a coach. Apart from the U19 here in Italy, the ANGT was my first experience to know more or less what I should have waited before making the jump to professional basketball."

Putting everybody in their positions

Realizing that Momo Faye is not only away from the place where he grew up until 16 years of age, but with basketball shaping his future's lines, is kind of surreal.

He had football in mind, first. But thankfully enough for Reggio Emilia inhabitants who can enjoy him now on a weekly basis in PalaBigi, right in the heart of the city center, there was a basketball court next to the football field where he used to play.

That encounter with Andrea Menozzi changed everything.

"I was able to impress, and I got the call from Italy. They explained the idea to me, the club's philosophy, and the project. It was a tough decision between living my basketball dream and staying at home, with my family. I had never left my place before. But we all accepted the challenge. And I'm here now."

Four years in the making, he went from delivering statement performances in the Italian Next Gen Cup to debuting and making first impressions in the Basketball Champions League. A slow process behind the scenes that could look faster.

"I think he's handling it very well. He's young and going through growing pains, but he's mature enough to handle it the way he has been, in a very mature manner," Faried mentions.

"The way he comes in, does his little things, micro-dosing, lifting weights, coming in early, staying after practice to shoot the ball."

"You're focused on your job not just to play basketball, but to work every day in practice in order to get better."

However, there's certainly room for more improvement as Reggiana's #35 says.

"He needs to play his game and be a little more physical. He's starting to get better at it because he sees me. I read the game. I come out, I'm aggressive at first because I don't want to start the game passive."

"You got to be strong in that lane. You got to grab the ball strong. You have to be physical. You got to rebound strong. Also, Momo is getting stronger physically: he has no body fat, he reminds me of myself when I was younger."

The upside is so high Momo Faye can dream of flying high, like Superman.

"I see Dwight Howard. He had this great timing of blocking shots, great athleticism, great build of just solid muscle, which Momo's body is becoming more and more of. I see his frame becoming like the broad shoulders and the Superman type of top,” Faried compared Faye to the triple NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

"He has to learn more of the timing of how Dwight did. Dwight had that 'I dunk everything' mindset. And it's tough because this era of basketball is more dedicated to stretching the floor out. My era, Dwight's era, was predicated on being able to hit somebody with your shoulder, going up strong, and dunk on top of them."

"It's hard now to try teaching a guy that mentality because it's considered old school and ancient. Whereas it's still extremely effective in the game. If you're able to move and be mobile as a big, like Momo, it's great. It helps. That's why I say Dwight Howard, because he was very big but very mobile and very athletic."

The comparison doesn't stop there for Kenneth.

"Also, you knew when Dwight was on the court: you could see him all over the place. That's what Momo could translate to: if he had that mindset, I'd be scared. I'm being honest: I'd be scared. He's already a strong dude and at practice, we're going to war. When he gets it and buries guys down there, I swear he's going to be a lottery pick, maybe even Top 5," Faried predicts.

As is known, there are always good-manner personalities behind the superheroes' masks. Following his week-by-week and day-by-day progression, Dimitris Priftis understands Momo Faye's specialty relies on his behavior.

"He's quiet, friendly, and socially communicative. At the same time, he's tough with himself during practice. One thing he can improve is his work ethic, spending even more time on the floor. I would say that he has a good base for his future, balancing between his character and personality."

Whether setting the right screen on pick-and-roll situations alongside "a top playmaker, one of the best players in his position in this league" such as Cassius Winston, or battling for a rebound, everybody can see Faye's talent.

It's hard to put a bar to it, just like Reggiana's trajectory in the Basketball Champions League. Halfway through their first-ever participation in the Round of 16, they are 2-1 with fate in their hands.

At 19, Momo is conscious about it.

"We shouldn't put a bar to our ambitions: everything's possible. Everybody working at Pallacanestro Reggiana puts everything at our disposal to achieve any goal. This club had never made it to the Round of 16 before, and it's a huge achievement already. As long as we try to stay on track, the future will tell us where we can go."

If it isn't clever to think about what could limit the 2005-born center's upside, what can the future tell?

"With young guys like Momo, the big bet is about stability. Of course, physicality and athleticism aren't enough when you're facing a defender with experience and enough intelligence at a high level," Priftis says.

"Participating in the Basketball Champions League is part of a smooth development as far as raising the level of demands for him. As long as the process goes, it adds one more index of difficulty. We're facing opponents that are higher-level teams. The challenge is for both him and us to react in front of such opponents."

"The main target for this kind of player is to find consistency, giving some reliability to coaches, teammates, and themselves. They should find a natural balance between ups and downs," Reggiana's head coach concludes on his smiling player.

The road may still be long and unpredictable, but the path hasn't been winding thus far. Momo Faye knows it himself, as he focuses on his physical but also mental health already. Confidence is the key to dominating.

"I have so many things to do and to improve on. As long as I play basketball, I have to learn every day. At this moment, my goal is to grow first as a person: I really care about it. Learning how to be a leader, to put my teammates in the best conditions and positions, and to make sure everybody feels comfortable. I'm growing, day by day."

Leadership is something basketball teaches you with time. Momo Faye will have a lot of time to explore whatever sport will bring to him.

Thankfully, back in Dakar, the football field had some rims nearby. You need to start dominating somewhere.