Josh Mballa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Josh Mballa
File:Josh Mballa.jpg
Mballa with Buffalo in 2021
Personal information
Born (1999-07-29) 29 July 1999 (age 26)
NationalityFrench
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolPutnam Science Academy
(Putnam, Connecticut)
College
NBA draft2023: undrafted
PositionSmall forward / power forward
Career highlights
  • MAC Defensive Player of the Year (2021)
  • 2× Second-team All-MAC (2021, 2022)
  • 2× MAC All-Defensive Team (2021, 2022)
Stats at NBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Stats at Basketball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Stats at Basketball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Joshua Kenneth Mballa (born 29 July 1999) is a French basketball player. He played college basketball for the Ole Miss Rebels, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Buffalo Bulls.

Early life and career

[edit | edit source]

Mballa was born in Detroit, Michigan but raised in Bordeaux, France.[1][2] He started playing competitive basketball at age eight, learning from Vincent Mbassi, a trainer at Kameet Academy who knew his uncle.[3] He played for Bouscat and then JSA Bordeaux before joining Orléans Loiret.[4] Mballa returned to the United States for high school, attending Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut. Playing alongside Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi, he helped his team win the National Prep Championship.[5] A three-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Texas Tech over offers from Seton Hall and South Florida.[6]

College career

[edit | edit source]

As a freshman at Texas Tech, Mballa played sparingly, scoring 13 total points, and his team reached the national championship game.[3] For his sophomore season, he transferred to Buffalo and received a waiver for immediate eligibility.[7] As a sophomore, Mballa averaged 10.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He grabbed 308 rebounds, the most by a Buffalo player in a single season since Sam Pellom in the 1975–76 season.[8] He missed three games early in his junior season due to plantar fasciitis.[3] On 19 December 2020, Mballa posted a career-high 27 points and seven rebounds in a 107–96 overtime loss to Syracuse.[9] As a junior, he averaged 15.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, receiving Second Team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC), and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He declared for the 2021 NBA draft before withdrawing and returning to Buffalo.[10] Mballa was named to the Second Team All-MAC as a senior.[11] Following the season, Mballa declared for the 2022 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[12] He also later entered the transfer portal.[13] On May 15, 2022, Mballa announced he was transferring to Ole Miss.[14] He subsequently withdrew from the NBA Draft.[15]

National team career

[edit | edit source]

Mballa represented France at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Spain, where he averaged 4.2 points and four rebounds per game. At the 2017 FIBA U18 European Championship in Slovakia, he averaged 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.[16]

Career statistics

[edit | edit source]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

[edit | edit source]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Texas Tech 17 0 3.4 .444 .000 .357 .3 .1 .1 .1 .8
2019–20 Buffalo 32 20 25.8 .562 .000 .590 9.6 1.0 1.3 1.1 10.8
2020–21 Buffalo 22 19 29.5 .486 .250 .679 10.8 1.9 1.5 .5 15.3
Career 71 39 21.6 .521 .227 .618 7.7 1.0 1.1 .7 9.8

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]