New Kentucky commit Ousmane N'Diaye is up for a major award in the top Italian league

Before he makes his way to the United States, new Kentucky commit Ousmane N’Diaye is wrapping up his professional season overseas. And he might bring a nice piece of hardware with him to Lexington.

N’Diaye is one of five candidates for Lega Basket Serie A’s “Best Under 22 of the Year” award, it was announced Monday. Although N’Diaye turned 22 in March, the award goes to the best player born on or after January 1, 2004. Below is part of what the LBA wrote in its press release about the his season-long performance.

“(N’Diaye) has made an impact, especially by adapting to the pace and demands of Serie A, a transition that can often be challenging for a player still in training.

“Overall, his season can be considered positive from a medium-term perspective. Joining a team like Cremona has allowed him to gain experience, compete with more experienced players, and begin to build a solid foundation on which to develop his potential. The feeling is that, with consistent work and increased confidence, he can become a reliable rotation big man and, in the long run, an even more complete profile.”

N’Diaye has appeared in 26 regular-season games this season for his squad, Vanoli Basket Cremona. The 6-foot-11 forward has averaged 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per outing. He’s shooting 52.8 percent from the field, 30.3 percent on 5.1 three-point attempts per outing, and 82.8 percent from the free-throw line. His best outing of the season came against Trieste when he posted 24 points and 11 rebounds in a December win.

Vanoli Basket Cremona has two more regular-season games left on the schedule before the playoffs begin. They’re important ones, too. Cremona is currently ninth in the LBA standings. The top eight teams advance to the postseason. Trailing by four points, N’Diaye and Co. will need a couple of wins and some good fortune from other teams to move into that eighth spot.

You — the Big Blue Nation — can actually vote for N’Diaye to win the Best Under 22 award. Click the link here to find the voting ballot. You might need to create an account, but that will be worth it when N’Diaye wins this award by hundreds of votes. Funny enough, you can also vote for former Wildcat Kyle Wiltjer to win the league’s Most Improved Player award. Playing for Umana Reyer Venezia, the 33-year-old Wiltjer is averaging 14 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 41.3 percent outside shooting this season.