Louisville has officially announced the signing of class of 2014 big man Anas Osama Mahmoud, a 7'1 native of Egypt who committed to the Cardinals last month.
Though he's only a teenager, Mahmoud has been recognized as one of the most promising Egyptian hoops prospects for years. He began playing for a club at age 12, and has been a member of Egyptian national team since 2009. Last summer, he helped the national team qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup by finishing second at the 2013 AfroBasket tournament.
"Anas is an extremely versatile seven-footer," Rick Pitino said in a release. "He is a very skilled athlete who is a very good scorer and passer. His only weakness is strength. We will base a consideration of redshirting him on how quickly he can gain necessary strength to be effective. We're delighted to have Anas at the University of Louisville."
Mahmoud -- whose name is pronounced AH-nahs o-SAW-mah mah-MOOD -- averaged 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots last season for West Oaks. His best skill at this point may be his outside shot, which, as you might imagine, he has little trouble getting off.
Mahmoud, who came to the Unites States from Egypt in September, plans to major in engineering at U of L and speaks four languages.
Foreign, you say? Big man, you say? Speaks four languages, you say?
I've seen this resume before and I am on board.