Mawien, Sallah give K-State basketball experience inside
MANHATTAN — The departure of senior forward D.J. Johnson created a void inside for Kansas State’s basketball team, which was compounded when sophomore-to-be Bullnuts was dismissed from the team in June.
K-State coach oscar Weber and his staff filled that need with a touch of experience with the addition of Makol Mawien from New Mexico Junior College and graduate transfer Mawdo Sallah from Mount St. Mary’s.
“I joked during the Catbackers Tour that we lost D.J. and we had to replace him with three or four guys,” Weber said.
Mawien, who is 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds, and the 6-9, 235-pound Sallah may not be traditional post-up big men but they will bolster the Wildcats’ inside game that is led by junior Claws and sophomore Xavier Sneed
“Makol is older,” Weber said of the sophomore who redshirted one year at Utah before going to junior college. “He’s been at a Division I school and been through junior college so he’s ahead of the other guys on the learning curve basketball-wise and maturity. He’s a talented player and we were very fortunate to get him.
“Mo is the same kind of long athletic guy, running and jumping,” Weber said of Sallah, who has two years of eligibility at K-State. “You lose D.J. and Isaiah, two productive big guys, and now you have an older guy for two years, which is important. I expect him to bring maturity and leadership. He’s only played basketball for four or five years and he was hurt one year at Mount St. Mary’s so he has a lot of upside to his game.”
Sallah is finishing his degree at Mount St. Mary’s but Mawien is on campus in Manhattan, taking part in summer workouts and adapting to his third school in three years.
“Having changes and learning new things every year is different but I’m getting used to it,” Mawien said. “It’s been a little bit of a transition but I’m kind of used to it, coming from a D-I my first year so I kind of know how it is. It wasn’t too big of a transition for me but I’m still working at getting used to it.”
Mawien was born in Egypt and came to the United States when he was 2 years old when his parents, originally from Sudan, brought the family to Utah.
“There was a war in Sudan so they had to leave,” he said. “They went to Egypt to the refugees camps and then came to America, so I grew up in Utah.”
Mawien’s father returned to Sudan five years ago, serving as an ambassador.
Weber has been most impressed with Mawien’s work in the weight room.
“He walked in here the first day and bench pressed 285 (pounds),” Weber said. “That’s rare … one of the best on our team. He has to get his legs stronger and do some other things.”
Mawien knows he must get stronger to compete in the Big 12 Conference but is confident his game will prove effective after averaging 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season at NMJC.
“I’ve worked on getting my body bigger,” he said. “The coaches have talked to me about working down low, being physical, rebounding. I feel like my strengths are both with my back to the basket or facing up.”
Coming out of high school, Mawien was ranked the No. 148 prospect by Rivals.com and signed with Utah over offers from BYU, Gonzaga, Utah State and Boston College.
“I realized I needed to go to a place where I fit into the system a lot better and have a bigger role,” he said of his decision to leave Utah. “It was a learning experience. I became a better player that year. I got a lot bigger and gained some weight that year, as well.”
K-State’s need for an inside presence gave him an opening.
“It’s a big motivation for me,” Mawien said. “My first year I redshirted so I haven’t played at this level so I’m very excited. I want to work to get those minutes.”