NC State Basketball

Congoloese Center Paul Mbiya Signs with NC State!

Published

7 months ago

May 2, 2025

Congoloese Center Paul Mbiya (6’11″/260) has signed with NC State!

NEWS: NC State has landed the commitment of Congolese big man Paul Mbiya, source told @On3sports.

The 6-11, 260-pound center boasts a 7-7 wingspan.

The 20-year-old Mbiya most recently played with the French pro team ASVEL of the EuroLeague, a club owned by Tony Parker.… pic.twitter.com/YnCJRUC6UB

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 2, 2025

Will Wade’s Perspective

Paul has a presence about him when you watch him that really jumps out at you. He’s nearly seven feet tall, but his wingspan and length makes him appear even taller. He has the potential to be one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in college basketball, but also has a great offensive skill set. The sky is the limit for what he can become. (GP)

Mbiya has a 7’7″ wingspan!

Previously, he took a visit to Oregon.

Mbiya is currently 20 years old (born April 11, 2005) but has only been playing basketball for three years.

At 17, Mbiya got his start with the NBA Academy in Senegal and played five games with Ferroviario de Beira out of Mozambique.

At 18, he headed to France to play with Espoirs ASVEL, the U21 team of the ASVEL program owned by NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker. In 2022–23, he averaged 10.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 steals for Espoirs ASVEL.

This season, Mbiya continued to play primarily in France’s ProA U21 league with ASVEL, averaging 14.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 22 games. As a 19-year-old, he was called up to play with ASVEL’s top-tier professional team for a total of 11 games in both the EuroLeague and France’s Betclic Élite league.

Since Mbiya has played a few games at the professional level, we will have to wait and see how the NCAA handles his eligibility, but until we hear otherwise, we will go off the notion that Mbiya has 4-years of eligibility in college.

Mbiya is also going through the NBA Draft process, though I don’t think there is an expectation for him to be drafted.

Mbiya will continue testing the 2025 NBA Draft waters, recently accepting an invitation to the adidas Eurocamp (May 31st to June 2nd) in Treviso, Italy. https://t.co/1fC32gD945

— Jon Chepkevich (@JonChep) May 2, 2025