Seminoles land rising combo forward Kabengele for 2016 class

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Florida State's 2016 basketball signing class is already considered one of the best in school history. On Wednesday morning, as first reported by Warchant.com, the Seminoles got even stronger as talented forward Mfiondu Kabengele of Don Bosco Prep in Indiana committed to Florida State.

Kabengele, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound combo forward, joins five-star forward Jonathan Isaac, guard CJ Walker and talented guard Trent Forrest in the Seminoles' 2016 class.

Warchant spoke with Kabengele's head coach, Dave Maravilla, who confirmed the news on his rising star and talked about the type of player the 'Noles are getting. He also discussed why FSU won out in the end.

"I think he felt his ambition is to get to the NBA," Maravilla said. "He saw the talent there, level of talent coming in and felt like he would be challenged everyday, and compete everyday against NBA talent."

Kabengele was a cornerstone in Don Bosco Prep's success this season; the team finished with 16 wins, and Kabengele helped them capture the Mid American Prep tournament championship.

"He had a great tournament. He actually made 18 out of 20 free throws and iced the semifinal win for us," Maravilla said. "He's a money-time player. He averaged a little over 20 points per game ... he shot over 40 percent from three and was averaging a double-double for us."

* Late growth spurt changes Kabengele from guard to stretch-four

Maravilla said Kabengele's versatility caused nightmares for many opponents.

"His ability to create mismatches. Perfect example was this weekend where we used him on the elbow or on the block," Maravilla said "He's a guy with such a unique skill set that can play multiple positions. He has a great feel for the game, extraordinary passer, very unselfish player. He doesn't have holes in his game."

Because he just recently turned 18, Kabengele is not anywhere close to reaching his potential, Maravilla said.

And while he wasn't as heavily recruited as some of his FSU classmates, Maravilla said there were quite a few schools trying to jump into the mix for Kabengele before he made that commitment to FSU.

"Georgetown was trying to get in. He visited Boston College officially and was thinking about visiting Georgia, who offered him earlier," Maravilla said. "Kansas State was there last weekend, along with Seton Hall, and Clemson was there this weekend. He had a lot of high-major interest. This kid just fell in love with FSU and that that was the place for him."

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