Ndiaye among Warriors’ intriguing summer-league prospects

The squad broke mini-camp in Santa Cruz on Saturday to head to Las Vegas, where they'll play three games in a four-game span and get a good look at Mamadou Ndiaye. Originally from Senegal, Ndiaye averaged 12.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots last season for UC Irvine. Because he spoke so little English, he didn't even know how scared he should be when doctors found a tumor on his pituitary gland that year. Doctors were able to remove the golf-ball-sized tumor, and Ndiaye was able to recover, just as things were falling apart at home. Ndiaye wants people to see him for more than a tall guy who plays basketball. For now, though, he'll settle for being a basketball player on the Warriors' summer-league team, with the unenviable task of trying to whittle out a spot in the NBA. Teams, especially the Warriors, are playing more and more position-less basketball, often going with five like-sized players and no center.