As teammates last season in Arizona, Jalin Holland knows fellow freshman Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola better than anyone in the Colorado men’s basketball program.

Last week, Holland was asked about the cohesiveness of the Buffaloes’ five-player freshman class — a class that grew to six this week with the addition of Italian 7-footer Leonardo Van Elswyk. Immediately, Holland referred to Ifaola, who brings an engaging personality and sturdy frame to CU.

“And Tacko, you know Tacko,” Holland said. “With Tacko and his Tacko personality, it’s easy for us, or even the whole team, to get together.”

Buffs fans don’t actually know Tacko yet. But if all goes according to plan, that soon will change.

The lone frontcourt player among the five prospects signed by head coach Tad Boyle in November, Ifaola has brought an interesting basketball journey to Boulder, where this summer he also has been greeted with an opportunity more inviting than originally planned.

A native of Nigeria, Ifaola grew up playing soccer before a dramatic growth spurt. His attention was steered toward basketball in part due to the influence of former NBA player and Louisville star Pervis Ellison, who scouts Africa for basketball talent.

Following a path similar to those undertaken by former Buffs like Lucas Siewert and Assane Diop, as well as new CU teammate Sebastian Rancik, Ifaola decided to attend high school in America in hopes of bolstering his basketball potential. Ifaola landed at The Patrick School in New Jersey.

Already AAU teammates with Holland, the duo paired up last year at Dream City Christian in Glendale, Ariz. At 6-foot-11, Ifaola boasts a very un-freshman-like 245-pound, broad-shouldered frame that he combines with a nimble athleticism borne from his formative years as a soccer player.

When Ifaola signed last November, he projected as a possible developmental prospect and perhaps even a redshirt candidate. But thanks to Ifaola’s rapid improvement, along with CU’s personnel shift, the circumstances have changed.

With Diop having transferred to San Diego, CU returns only Rancik, Elijah Malone and Bangot Dak as frontcourt players, and Dak is sidelined this summer due to an injury. Until the signing of Van Elswyk, who isn’t yet on campus, the Buffs had not added any further frontcourt help.

The situation has led to extra reps for Ifaola during the first set of the 10 practices allowed ahead of CU’s trip to Australia, and they are reps he is trying to value before he has to say farewell to his new teammates. Due to the nuances of Ifaola’s student visa, he will not join the Buffs during the four-game exhibition tour of Australia that begins next month. CU also is still waiting to see if Van Elswyk will be available for the Australia trip, as he has been trying out for the Italian U20 national team.

“The only problem I’m having so far is the basketball plays over here,” Ifaola said. “Except for that, I’m good. I can’t go to Australia, and that’s so sad for me. So I’m trying to practice hard every time, and go hard at practice and help my teammates. I’m going to support them because I know I can’t make it to Australia. I wish I could.

“For me, I bring physicality to the game. I like to screen, and I like to rebound.”