British forward Zamoku Weluche-Ume committed to GW Monday, according to ESPN.
18-year-old Weluche-Ume spent the last year playing for both the London Lions of the British Basketball League and the Barking Abbey School, a London secondary school specializing in athletics. The 6′ 8” forward will further bolster the Colonials’ frontcourt after 6’ 7” redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. announced his transfer to GW from Virginia Tech last week.
Weluche-Ume averaged 10.7 minutes and 1.8 points for the Lions across 12 games played in the 2022-23 season. In his debut with the Lions in September 2021, Weluche-Ume dropped 19 points in an upset win over the Surrey Scorchers.
The forward was also nominated to attend the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, Georgia, a showcase game for international players attended by NBA and NCAA scouts. In January, he notched the British Basketball League’s top play of the month on a breakaway slam dunk against the Worthing Thunder.
With the departures of junior Center Noel Brown to St. Bonaventure and senior forward Hunter Dean to LSU as well as the graduation of senior forward Ricky Lindo Jr., the Colonials have been looking to fill their frontcourt. Along with Buchanan Jr. and redshirt freshman forward Garret Johnson, who transferred from Princeton in early April, Weluche-Ume will lend size to the young GW roster.