We are now just five days until BYU basketball season begins and that means we are down to the five most important BYU basketball players this season.

At No. 5 is Utah transfer Keba Keita. Keita is a junior center from Mali who is one of the most physically imposing and athletic centers BYU has ever had.

How many BYU centers have been able to touch the top of the backboard? Not many.

Keba Keita at BYU basketball's NBA combine testing

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His role for the Cougars will be extremely simple on offense: set screens, rim run and offensive rebound. Unlike fellow Mali native Fousseyni Traore, Keita does not possess the same back-to-the-basket game that Traore has, but his rim gravity because he is a lob threat makes him valuable.

Alongside player makers like Egor Demin and Dallin Hall, Keita will score on multiple alley-oops as Cougar fans have already witnessed in BYU’s exhibition game vs Colorado Christian and Blue and White scrimmage.

While only 6-foot-8, Keita is a good rebounder because of his athleticism. Last season at Utah, Keita’s offensive rebound percentage was 14.3%, his defensive rebound percentage was 21.2% and his total rebound percentage was 17.9%. He would have led BYU in all three categories last season among players who played over 50 total minutes last season. It is not that the Cougars were a bad rebounding team either, they finished last season 19th in total rebounding rate.

An area where Keita will improve BYU the most is his ability to protect the rim. In just 16 minutes per game last year, Keita averaged over a block a game (no one on BYU averaged over one block) and would have been third on BYU in steals per game. His activity around the rim changes the game for opposing offenses because as Colorado Christian found out, your shot might end up three rows deep.

There are some weaknesses to Keita’s game; he only shot 56.1% from the free throw line last season, which means he and Traore will likely both finish games this season for BYU because Traore shot 71.6% from the charity stripe last season. Keita also averages 5.6 fouls per 40 minutes, and in his first full year as a starter, he may find himself in foul trouble with the increased opportunity. However, because the Cougars have Traore as a backup, those weaknesses are not detrimental to BYU’s success this season. BYU coach Kevin Young will have the unenviable job of trying to maximize both big men on the roster at the right time.

The job for Keita this year is simple — protect the rim on defense and rebound, then let BYU’s bevy of playmakers set him up for some highlight-reel finishes on offense.