With the 2017-18 season just around the corner, the University of Minnesota Duluth Men’s basketball team welcomed a few new faces to its squad.

Along with four freshmen, the Bulldogs added former Anoka-Ramsey Community College Golden Rams standout Mamadou Ngom.

Ngom, a 6-foot-3 guard, transferred to UMD after guiding Anoka-Ramsey to a 28-5 record and a fourth-place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship in 2017.

“I’m more of a slasher,” Ngom said when describing his style of play. “I’m an athletic guard. I can play defense. I’m a good rebounding guard, and I like to just get the ball and run, find shooters, and create for myself. That’s what I expect people to look for.”

In his final season with the Golden Rams, Ngom led all players with 6.9 rebounds per game en route to being named to the All-Minnesota College Athletic Conference team. In addition, he paced all scorers with 15.5 points per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor.

“I feel like I’m mature,” Ngom said. “I’m coming in already with two years experience, and as a guard I feel I could drive and create for my teammates who are great shooters. That’s why I chose this school.”

UMD ranked last out of 16 teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for scoring (69.2 ppg), but proved a viable threat from three-point range. The Bulldogs finished sixth in three-point percentage, and third in three-pointers made in the previous season.

“Mamadou brings a certain level of athleticism handling the ball that we may not have had,” head coach Matt Bowen said. “He’s very versatile. He’s not a point guard, but he’s also not a forward. He’s a pretty versatile guy that can play both positions.”

Ngom provided Anoka-Ramsey with 43.2 percent shooting from outside the perimeter, averaging over one made three per game.

“I’m hoping he’ll be a solid defender as I’ve seen in his junior college days with Anoka,” Bowen said. “He comes from a team that’s had some pretty good success as of late. So I want him to continue that here. You add all that together, I think he was a good fit for some of the needs that we needed in our program. We’re excited to have him here.”

UMD will kick off its season with an exhibition game against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.