VALPARAISO | With the incoming recruiting class settling into campus, Valparaiso men's basketball coach Homer Drew on Friday started looking into the distant future.

Drew received a verbal commitment from Moussa Gueye, a 7-foot, 247-pound center from Senegal by way of Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill.

The catch is that Gueye will not enroll at Valparaiso until prior to the 2011-12 season and will spend the next two years in Mattoon under the tutelage of former Chicago State assistant coach Cedric Brown.

"Coach Drew and I have a relationship from my time at Chicago State and he asked if they could place Moussa with us for the next two years," Brown said. "Moussa told me today that he wanted to make it official and tell Valparaiso that he was coming."

NCAA rules prohibit Drew from commenting until Gueye signs a National Letter of Intent, which won't happen for a minimum of 16 months.

"It's kind of unusual for a (JUCO) player to commit to a school before he's played his first college game, but that's a tribute to the relationship that (Valparaiso assistant coach) Luke Gore built with him," Brown said. "He's a great kid and he enjoys our program and he is going to enjoy Valparaiso."

According to Brown, Gueye and Gore first made contact during an Athletes in Action tour in West Africa. Once Gueye decided to come to Valparaiso, Drew asked Brown to "watch over Moussa" for the first two years in order to ensure eligibility.

"It's a blessing that Coach Drew and Bryce (Drew) thought enough of me to ask," Brown said. "I get a very good player and we'll make sure that he is ready for Valparaiso."

Brown stated that Gueye was 6-foot-4 when he was 15 and then started to sprout without losing any of his ball-handling abilities. Brown compared Gueye to a better version of Deje Akendele, the former Chicago State center who starred in Italy last season before joining the Portland TrailBlazers in the NBA Summer League last week.

"Deji was one-dimensional, but Moussa has a whole arsenal of moves," Brown said. "He can take you off the bounce, he can shoot the three. He is a very versatile player who can do a little bit of everything."

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