BRONX, N.Y. – Following a strong finish to his fourth year of college basketball, Fordham forward Abdou Tsimbila has been invited to training camp with the Cameroonian National Team as it seeks to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"This is going to be such an amazing and well-deserved experience for an outstanding human being," said Head Coach Keith Urgo.  "Abdou is everything a coach could ever want in a player.  He's sacrificed so much over the years to play at the highest collegiate level and this invitation is a recognition of his hard work and dedication.  Abdou is a tremendous ambassador for our program and our University."

Cameroon will be one of six teams competing in Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Latvia from July 2-7 in advance of the Paris games later this summer.  Brazil, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro and the Philippines round out the six-team field.  Cameroon will open action at the qualifying tournament on July 3 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (3:30 p.m. local) against Montenegro.

This past season, Tsimbila averaged 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, the latter of which led the team and ranked 10^th in the Atlantic 10.  A standout rim protector, he ranked third in the conference and 18^th in the nation with 2.3 blocks per contest, recording six or more blocks in a game on three separate occasions.  He posted four double-doubles and scored in double figures 13 times, including five of his last seven games.  During that final seven-game stretch, Tsimbila averaged 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing.

He averaged 5.2 points and 6.2 rebounds as a junior in 2022-23, helping the Rams record their second highest win total (25) in program history. 

Tsimbila arrived at Fordham in 2021 after playing one season at Penn State, where he was originally recruited by Urgo.

A native of Yaounde, Cameroon, Tsimbila came to the United States in 2017 to attend St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, Md.  Tsimbila, who returned to Cameroon in 2023 for the first time in six years, speaks five languages: French, Arabic, Lingala, Banham and English.