Silvio De Sousa

Silvio De Sousa (born 7 October 1998) is an Angolan college basketball player for the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 Conference. A native of Luanda, Angola, he competed with Montverde Academy and then IMG Academy in high school. He has played for the Angola national team on multiple occasions at the junior level.

Silvio De Sousa
No. 22 – Kansas Jayhawks
PositionPower forward
LeagueBig 12 Conference
Personal information
Born (1998-10-07) 7 October 1998
Luanda, Angola
NationalityAngolan
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKansas (2017–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Angola
FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
2016 RwandaNational team
FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship
2013 MadagascarNational team

Early life

De Sousa was born in Luanda, Angola to Jean Conceição and Janina De Sousa and has three younger sisters: Aline, Luisa, and Alicia. In his childhood, he played soccer and basketball, but he decided to focus on the latter sport at age 10.[1]

High school career

Shortly before his freshman year of high school, De Sousa moved to the United States. He first attended Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.[2] Under head coach Kevin Boyle, he helped the team remain ranked top-5 in the country and was considered its best prospect.[3] After having to share playing time with top prospects and forwards Simisola Shittu and E. J. Montgomery, he chose to leave the program after his sophomore season.[3]

For his junior year, De Sousa transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as decided by his parents. Although IMG also had touted big men, Isaiah Stokes and Emmitt Williams, his decision ultimately gave him more playing time than at Montverde.[4] In the summer of 2016, he also competed with the Under Armour Association team Florida Vipers, averaging 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.[5]

In August of his senior year, De Sousa committed to Kansas and reclassified from the recruiting class of 2018 to 2017 while exploring the chance to graduate early from IMG Academy and join the Jayhawks in time for the second semester of the 2017–18 NCAA season.[6] He successfully completed his academic requirements at IMG Academy and graduated early, in December 2017.[7]

College career

Freshman year

On 13 January 2018 the NCAA ruled De Sousa immediately eligible to play for the 2017–18 Kansas Jayhawks.[8] In his freshman season he averaged 8.8 minutes, 4.0 points, and 3.7 rebounds per game over 20 games,[1] helping the Jayhawks to their 14th consecutive Big 12 Conference Championship, Big 12 Tournament Championship, and Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore year

During the October 2018 college basketball corruption trial of two Adidas officials and an aspiring NBA agent, testimony was given by TJ Gassnola, a former consultant for Adidas, alleged that De Sousa's guardian, Fenny Falmagne, had accepted $60,000 from an unnamed Maryland booster to steer De Sousa to that program. Gassnola further testified that he gave $2,500 to Falmagne to cover the cost of online courses that De Sousa needed to graduate high school early. He also agreed to pay $20,000 to Falmagne to help release De Sousa from the commitment to the Maryland booster, but that the proposed payment was never made. De Sousa ultimately committed to Kansas, one of the named victims in the federal indictment.[9][10][11] Falmagne has vehemently asserted that neither he nor De Sousa accepted any money to steer De Sousa to Kansas, stating that "Coach Self is not about that (paying players). That is one of the things I really appreciate about him. ... That's when we went over there (to visit KU)."[12]

With De Sousa's amateur status now in question, on 24 October 2018 Kansas announced that De Sousa would be held out of competition until an eligibility review was completed.[13] On 1 February 2019, the NCAA ruled him ineligible for the remainder of the 2018–19 season and all of the 2019–20 season. Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long immediately announced that they will appeal. Head coach Bill Self called the entire process and decision "mean spirited" and "vindictive".[14] On 18 April 2019, Kansas officially filed the appeal with the NCAA on De Sousa's behalf.[15] The following day, he declared for the 2019 NBA Draft but also announced he planned to return to Kansas if he won his appeal.[16] On 24 May 2019, the NCAA announced that he had won his appeal and will be eligible to play in the 2019–20 season. The following day, he officially withdrew from the draft.[17]

Junior year

On 21 January 2020, in a game against Kansas State, De Sousa was dribbling out the ball in an 81–59 game in favor of Kansas when he was stripped by Kansas State player DaJuan Gordon with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game. De Sousa blocked Gordon's dunk attempt as time expired then stood over and taunted him, which sparked a brawl between both teams. De Sousa threw several punches and picked up a chair before he was restrained by assistant coach Jerrance Howard.[18] De Sousa was suspended indefinitely by Kansas for his role in the brawl.[19] The Big 12 announced his suspension will be 12 games, however, Bill Self stated he may continue the suspension beyond the 12 games. He was eligible to return for the Jayhawks’ final regular-season game against Texas Tech on 7 March.

On 16 October 2020, De Sousa announced he was opting out of the 2020-21 season to focus on a personal matter.[20]

Career statistics
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
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Kansas 2008.8.681–.7143.7.2.1.24.0
2019–20 Kansas 1818.2.471.667.5202.8.1.1.82.6
Career 3818.5.593.667.6093.3.2.1.53.3

References
  1. "Silvio De Sousa". KUAthletics.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  2. Whitfield, Matt (December 13, 2016). "2018 Star Silvio De Sousa Says Three Schools Working Hardest". ZagsBlog.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. Coolings, Buddy (July 6, 2016). "Three top basketball prospects leave national power Montverde". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. Halley, Jim (December 19, 2016). "Silvio De Sousa helps lead No. 5 IMG Academy past No. 17 Neumann-Goretti in City of Palms quarterfinal". USATodayHSS.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  5. Bedore, Gary (December 23, 2017). "Silvio De Sousa will join KU in days. For now he's wowing analysts at high school tourney". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  6. Tait, Matt (November 9, 2017). "Class of 2018 big man Silvio De Sousa seeking NCAA approval to join Jayhawks early". KUSports.com. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  7. Tait, Matt (December 22, 2017). "Power forward Silvio De Sousa officially cleared to join the Jayhawks". KUSports.com. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  8. Tait, Matt (January 13, 2018). "Silvio De Sousa cleared by NCAA". KUSports.com. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  9. Hobson, Will (October 11, 2018). "A pair of allegations involving Maryland surface at NCAA corruption trial". Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  10. Forde, Pat; Thamel, Pete; Wetzel, Dan (April 12, 2018). "What do new charges in college hoops corruption case mean?". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  11. Newell, Jesse; Zagoria, Adam (October 11, 2018). "Details about Billy Preston's car, KU emerge as Adidas basketball trial continues". Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  12. Hines, Travis (April 11, 2018). "Report: Guardian of Kansas' Silvio De Sousa denies taking payment". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  13. Dauster, Rob (October 24, 2018). "Kansas to hold sophomore forward out of competition over eligibility concerns". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  14. "Kansas Athletics statements regarding the NCAA decision on Silvio De Sousa". KUAthletics.com.
  15. "Kansas files appeal of De Sousa ban to NCAA". ESPN.com.
  16. "Jayhawks' Silvio De Sousa declares for NBA Draft, hopes to return to KU pending appeal". KansasCity.com.
  17. "Jayhawks' De Sousa wins appeal, eligible to play". ESPN.com.
  18. Medcalf, Myron (January 21, 2020). "Late block sparks brawl between Kansas, Kansas State". ESPN. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  19. "Jayhawks' Silvio De Sousa suspended indefinitely for role in brawl Kansas State". ESPN. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  20. Cobb, David (October 16, 2020). "Silvio De Sousa steps away from Kansas basketball program with Bill Self's 'support for his decision'". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
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