Huskers Add SMU Transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel

Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball team added another experienced scorer to the Husker roster with the signing of SMU grad transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel (pronounced ban-do-mel) on Tuesday.

Bandoumel, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Quebec City, Quebec, was a three-year starter at SMU. He started the last 64 games for the Mustangs dating back to the 2019-20 campaign. A double-figure scorer in each of the last two seasons, Bandoumel helped the Mustangs to a combined 54-26 record with two postseason appearances in his three years in the program. He will have one year of eligibility at Nebraska. 

“Emmanuel gives us another guard with positional size on the perimeter,” Hoiberg said. “He’s started the last two-plus years at SMU and is a good 3-point shooter who has shot over 35 percent each of the past two seasons.  Defensively, he has the size and athleticism to guard several spots which matches up well with our other backcourt players. He also brings experience and leadership having started at SMU for the past three seasons. In Sam (Griesel), Juwan (Gary) and Emmanuel, I think we’ve added three players from the portal who will help us defensively with their length and size.”

Last season, Bandoumel started all 33 games for the Mustangs, who went 24-9 and reached the second round of the 2022 NIT. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, reaching double figures in 18 games. He ranked second on the team with 70 3-pointers while shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc and 83 percent from the foul line.  He had a career-high 23 points at East Carolina, including six 3-pointers, while he posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Cincinnati. 

Bandoumel started all 17 games for SMU in an abbreviated 2020-21 season, averaging 10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, as he ranked 14th in the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage (.364). He had a season-high 19 points, including a buzzer beater in a 66-64 win at Dayton and 16 points in the NIT against Boise State. In all, he had 10 double-figure efforts.  He played a key role in his first season, appearing in all 30 games, including 18 starts, and averaged 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He totaled eight double-figure efforts, including a season-high 14 points in a win at No. 20 Memphis. 

He spent one year at Hill (Texas) College, averaging 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for Coach Swede Trenkle. He shot 53 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the line while starting 27 of 30 games. Before coming to the United States, the Quebec City native played for Coach Michael Chmielewski at Jean-de-Brébeuf High School and AAU for Coach Joey McKitterick with Brookwood Elite.

Bandoumel is the third transfer to join the Husker program this offseason, joining Sam Griesel (North Dakota State) and Juwan Gary (Alabama). They add to an incoming recruiting class that is ranked in the top 30 nationally by both Rivals and 247Sports. That group includes a pair of top-150 recruits in Ramel Lloyd Jr. and Jamarques Lawrence as well as junior college transfer Blaise Keita, who is the No. 4 overall player by JUCORecruiting.com.