Ryerson Rams centre Tanor Ngom is taking his talents south of the border to join the Florida State Seminoles, the school announced Friday.

The native of Senegal has signed a Grant in Aid to play basketball at Florida State for head coach Leonard Hamilton.

“I can’t wait to get to work with coach Hamilton and the Seminoles,” said Ngom. “Florida State is a great program and I’m humbled at the opportunity to become a part of the program.”

The 7-foot-2 Ngom made headlines following his sophomore season by declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft; however, after going undrafted he returned to Ryerson for his junior season.

That moved turned out to be a good one as Ngom averaged 16.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, both career highs helping Ryerson to a 16-6 record.  

“Tanor is a great fit for our team in so many ways,” said Hamilton. “He is quick and long which gives him the ability to block shots while guarding players in the paint and out towards the perimeter. He has a nice shooting touch and can get to the rim on offence. He has really improved his game while at Ryerson.”

In an Instagram post, Ngom wrote, “I would like to first of all thank God for giving me this incredible opportunity. The next step brings me just this much closer to my goal. To my family and everyone that helped me make this decision I say thank you … the marathon continues.”

One of the big steps along Ngom’s journey came in 2017 when he took the U SPORTS scene by storm joining the Rams, a top program in Canada that was on the doorstep of a national championship.

With his immense height came big expectations, and he didn’t disappoint in his freshman season. He averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 12.8 minutes per game. He was named to the OUA All-Rookie team and helped Ryerson make the U SPORTS final, where they fell just short to the Calgary Dinos.

In his sophomore season he assumed a bigger role on the team, playing 19 minutes per game while averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. 

Ngom’s status and presence went beyond Canadian basketball in the summer of 2018. He became the first U SPORTS player to attend the Nike Academy in Los Angeles, where he put on an impressive performance.

The Nike Academy is an annual event, where the best collegiate basketball players in North America gather for drills, workouts, film sessions and scrimmages, all led by current and former NBA players.

The Seminoles had a steller 2019-20 season, going 26-5 and were ranked No.4 on the final AP Poll of the season, poised to make a deep run at a National Championship before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19.