Boubacar Toure (born 31 December 1995) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the EuroLeague. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Grand Canyon Antelopes The Grand Canyon Antelopes (more commonly referred to as the Lopes) are the 21 athletic teams representing Grand Canyon University, located in Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division I level in the ...

and

Eastern Michigan Eagles The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

Early life and high school career

Toure was born and grew up in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. The first time he began playing basketball, he decided he wanted to become a professional player. Toure's volleyball coach attempted to get him to give up basketball, but he refused. He attended a prestigious basketball camp in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, with NBA coaches in attendance. Toure moved to the United States in 2013 to play basketball. He attended Phase One Academy in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

, and committed to

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...

College career

Toure was forced to redshirt his first year at Grand Canyon due to not qualifying academically. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds over the course of eight games as a freshman, and posted 14 points against

Black Hills State University Black Hills State University (BHSU) is a public university in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 4,000 students attend classes at its campus in Spearfish, at sites in Rapid City and Pierre, and through distance offerings. Enrollment comes from ...

. Toure missed the remainder of the season with an injury, and was also sidelined during the 2016-17 season after tearing his ACL in practice in the preseason. He transferred to

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. He became the first Eagles player to have back-to-back double-doubles to start his career since 1971. Toure averaged 8.6 points and 7.8 rebounds a game as a junior. He had a season-high 16 rebounds along with 12 points against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

on March 2, 2019. As a senior at Eastern Michigan, Toure averaged 10.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team as well as Honorable Mention All-MAC. Toure had 13 double-doubles during his senior season, with his last coming in the first round of the MAC Tournament against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He finished his career first in Eastern Michigan history with a 65.3 career field-goal percentage, and his 86 blocks rank ninth in program history.

Professional career

On June 17, 2020, Toure signed with

Chorale Roanne Basket Chorale Roanne Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Roanne, France. The club plays in the first division LNB Pro A. Their home arena is Halle André Vacheresse. The club was founded in 1937 and the team's colors are blue an ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. He averaged 10 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 70.7% from the field, in his rookie season.On July 4, 2022, he signed with

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...

of the Turkish BSL. He averaged 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in the domestic league, as well as 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. On July 4, 2023, Toure signed a two-year contract with Spanish club

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

Personal life

Toure has one brother and four sisters. Toure is an avid soccer fan, with his favorite team being

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. He speaks three languages: English, French, and Wolof.

References

External links

Eastern Michigan Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toure, Boubacar 1995 births Living people Basketball players from Dakar Centers (basketball) Chorale Roanne Basket players Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball players Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in France Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Turkey Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Tofaş S.K. players