BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University head men's basketball coach Tony Dominguez has announced that 7-foot center Janko Drammeh has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Vikings starting in 2023-24.
 
Alahagie (Janko) Drammeh, a native of Dusseldorf, Germany with strong family roots in Gambia, joins the men's hoops squad as a JUCO transfer out of Victor Valley College in Victorville, California, with two years of eligibility remaining. He previously played one season at Western Oklahoma State College.
 
At Victor Valley in 2022-23 Drammeh was an all-conference honorable mention selection, ranking second in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference in blocks (43) and total rebounds (246), while ranking third with 9.1 rebounds per game. He also ranked top-10 in the conference in minutes played (27.7/game) and started in all but one of the Rams 28 regular-season contests.
 
"We are very excited to bring Janko into our program. He is a tremendous young man with great character and work ethic," said Dominguez. "Janko's combination of size and strength is something we targeted this offseason and we believe he fits us very well. He prides himself on his physicality and toughness. He is an outstanding defensive player and rebounder but also possesses a very good offensive skillset to make him a well-rounded player. Janko's international background also brings a perspective that will enhance our program culture. We couldn't be more thrilled about him joining our basketball family and what he can bring to our team."
 
The center was the leading rebounder for the Rams on both the offensive and defensive boards, with 3.3 offensive rebounds and 5.8 defensive rebounds per game. Drammeh averaged 7.2 points per game in 2022-23 with a 55.6% shooting percentage (70-for-126).
 
The big man notched five double-doubles on the season, two of which came in February, a month in which he averaged 8.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. His most impressive performance statistically came in his Victor Valley debut, where he scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting while also pulling down 17 boards (12 offensive rebounds) and recording a season-high five blocks.
 
Drammeh will look to combine with 2022-23 GNAC Freshman of the Year BJ Kolly (10.6 points/game, 6.2 rebounds/game, 2.2 blocks/game) in what is shaping up to be an imposing front court for the Vikings.
 
Drammeh will be just the third 7-footer to play for the Vikings, and the first since Logan Schilder (2016-2020). He is set to join Schilder and Dave Vandejagt (2008-2010) in the exclusive WWU 7-footer club.
 
Drammeh also runs a personal Tik-Tok account cataloguing his journey from Germany to the USA to play basketball, accumulating almost 45k followers and over 1.6 million likes.
 
Drammeh becomes the fifth member of the recruiting class for the upcoming season to be announced by Dominguez in his 12th season as a head coach of the Vikings and 29th overall at Western. The recruiting haul includes guard Will Wilson out of Mt. Hood Community College, forward Louis Grante-Halliday from Seattle University and Sehome High School guards Grant Kepley and Mathew Storms.