Gaston Diedhiou commits to Gophers

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Intrigued by the "Canaris Basketball Academy". Must be an interesting story about Gaston. Who discovered him as a player in Senegal? How long has he been at the Academy? Did he play a lot on a team that provided 4 college players this year?

This is posted on their website:Canarias Basketball Academy is a program part of the OAKLEY COLLEGE (www.oakleycollege.es) a private academic institution accredited in Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Here's a little more info on the CBA. They claim to have placed over 54 D1 players with full scholarships in the past 6 years. (I think this was written last year and hasn't been updated.) http://cbacademy.org/index.php/did-you-know/

Also one more link with a photo. No caption on the photo. A player drafted, posing with Stern. Curious if anyone knows who it is? http://cbacademy.org/index.php/post-graduate-program-2/
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Solid size and athleticism. Let's hope he can contribute by year two. I am completely in favor of a redshirt season or allowing him to play. His age shouldn't determine the outcome. His knowledge and skills should.
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I'm with you here. The competition he faced in these videos doesn't seem to be anywhere near what he will face in the B1G. So it's hard to judge where he is skill wise. If Coach P feels he needs time to adjust, I see no problem with using a redshirt on him. If he is up to speed right away, I have no problem with putting him in on certain situations either.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
His age shouldn't determine the outcome
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Many big men out of HS need to grow into their body and gather their coordination,... that's where age (21 next season) and strength should not be a factor for him. That's why most big fellas red-shirt.
 

Tommy Flanagan said:
Got a little more info about Gaston from a coach at another university that has looked at him. For the people that are concerned about his offer list, I was told that if he played at a prep school in the US last year, he would have an offer list similar to Cekovsky, the kid that signed with Maryland. As far as playing goes, it sounds like he is athletic enough to play the 4 and 5. Can create interesting possibilities on the defensive end of the court.
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Cekovsky's offer list included Arizona, Louisville, Florida and UCONN. Not bad.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
More of a post player than a forward in Pitino's system? Where do you come up with this nonsense? Power forwards don't play the "post/low block"? That's news to me.
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Pitino likes his power forwards to be able to shoot the 3 and put the ball on the floor from the perimeter. PFs in Pitino's system are probably more similar to small forwards than centers.
 


fan of Ray Williams said:
Intrigued by the "Canaris Basketball Academy". Must be an interesting story about Gaston. Who discovered him as a player in Senegal? How long has he been at the Academy? Did he play a lot on a team that provided 4 college players this year?

This is posted on their website:Canarias Basketball Academy is a program part of the OAKLEY COLLEGE (www.oakleycollege.es) a private academic institution accredited in Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Here's a little more info on the CBA. They claim to have placed over 54 D1 players with full scholarships in the past 6 years. (I think this was written last year and hasn't been updated.) http://cbacademy.org/index.php/did-you-know/

Also one more link with a photo. No caption on the photo. A player drafted, posing with Stern. Curious if anyone knows who it is? http://cbacademy.org/index.php/post-graduate-program-2/
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Player next to Stern is Joel Freeland I believe.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 

Too many posts on GH > hard to find info at times.. maybe add a way to filter opinon

Late Night Hoops
Basketball, Beats & Beyond
Gophers Add 6’9″ F Gaston Louis Diedhiou to 2014 Class April 11, 2014
http://latenighthoops.com/gophers-add-69-f-gaston-louis-diedhiou-2014-class/#.U0lXdXlOW70

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Xy9biR3JI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=POO9kqPek0o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kHNw0LPepZM

*** below pp press story and link
Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino received a commitment Friday from Gaston Louis Diedhiou, a 6-foot-9 forward from Senegal, according to multiple sources.

Diedhiou, 20, currently is playing at Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain. He also played club basketball for BC River Andorra in the Spanish League in 2012.

The athletic power forward is expected to sign next week. He is the fourth player in the class of 2014 to commit to the Gophers.

Pitino had three scholarships remaining after signing Chipola College (Fla.) wing Carlos Morris, Seattle Bothell High School forward Josh Martin and Arlington Country Day (Fla.) point guard Nate Mason last November.

Diedhiou's commitment was first reported by Scout.com's Evan Daniels on Twitter.

Follow Marcus R. Fuller at twitter.com/GophersNow.

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_25547379/gophers-basketball-team-picks-up-6-9-forward
 

Just looked up Gourgi Dieng's list of offers on Scout and he only had 2. Louisville and Marshall, I am going to reserve judgement.
 

rickyupchurch said:
Just looked up Gourgi Dieng's list of offers on Scout and he only had 2. Louisville and Marshall, I am going to reserve judgement.
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He was rated #44 by rivals though. He also had offers from Marquette and Colorado.
 



There's nothing wrong with tall AND athletic guys on the team. We didn't have enough of the latter on this year's team.
 


BarnBoy said:
Hear, hear. Same thing could be said about the "experts" that have already written him off as a project that won't play next year.
How about we trust our coach and welcome this kid aboard.
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To be fair don't most recruiting services get their recruiting info, talent evaluations and "expert" analysis from Gopherhole?
 

A lot of posts in this thread are painful to read with posters thinking they know exactly how Gaston should be used, if he should redshirt, and what position he will/should play. We only have a 2-minute highlight video of him, I'm going to trust the coaches on this one and I'm looking forward to how he develops and what Pitino has envisioned for him in the future.

His age does not matter in regards to if he'll redshirt or not. A lot of international players don't start playing basketball until a late age. His highlight video is limited, but he does look a bit raw. We don't know how much basketball he's played. He can't be compared to a U.S. player, it's apples and oranges. His age only matters in terms of physical development, which is a positive.

As for the PF or C debate, I see a future C in this system but I can't say that confidently with such limited tape on him. He's 6'9'' but has a long wingspan. Height is overrated, especially if a player has bulk and a long reach. Trevor Mbakwe played a lot of center in the big ten and he's what, 6'7'' or 6'8''? It looks like Gaston has the frame to add even more weight and be similar physically to Trevor. And considering our current coach prefers his PF's to be able to pick and pop and hit outside shots, it's more reason to believe Gaston ends up at the 5 spot. Maybe he can already make outside shots but his tape doesn't show it, or maybe he'll develop it, but I just don't get that vibe watching his highlights.

I think this is the "project 5" a lot of us have been hoping for in this class, but that's just my opinion. There is so much unknown about him, we'll just have to wait and see.
 



scools12 said:
To be fair don't most recruiting services get their recruiting info, talent evaluations and "expert" analysis from Gopherhole?
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If that were true, then all our recruits would either be 5-star or 1-star depending on which "expert" caught their attention.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
I really hope this thread gets to at least a 15th page. The insights are so enlightening.
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Maybe because it's been so crappy out this morning, but I'm really into this thread, not for insights but for entertainment. Am dreading though if we get word that Gaston isn't eligible because of his grades or whatever. I'm guessing some people will start to savage him like they turned on poor Piper in that thread. Much as I bitch about Reusse and Barreiro, GH certainly provides the ammunition they fire at us.
 

Blackhammer said:
That's because that was all this years fours could do. . If Rodney Williams was on this years team he would have played the four. You use your two big spots in whatever ways your talent allows you. Example being maybe you have a five who shoots threes well. That will allow you at times to use a less perimeter orientated four. It about mixing and matching. You may run four small players and a big sometimes. Everyone is so he's a 1,2,3,4,5. This is not the NBA. Your right in the fact Pitino wants his bigs to be able to shoot some unlike Tubby's offense.Doesn't mean all his inside guys have to shoot threes or block shots for that matter.
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Yeah probably shouldn't go too much by this year's team since the only PF he brought in was King, but I'm still mainly just going by what Pitino has said himself a bunch of times. If Pitino says he wants his PFs to shoot and put the ball on the floor from the perimeter, then I'll assume that's the way he will recruit and the way he will use them. Fair assumption, no?
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
What in the world are you talking about? Pitino has said himself numerous times that he likes his power forwards to play exactly the way I described. Also, all three of our power forwards this season played that way. You're embarrassing yourself. It makes sense now that you made fun of me for thinking Gaston will play the 5. You clearly know very little about how Pitino wants his guys to play.
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I'd say the prior poster has a bit of a point. It's silly to be constantly interpreting every move of Pitino as strictly consistent with some grand plan. There is an old saying: good business is where you find it. The same thing can be said about basketball players. What is most immediately apparent is that this kid addresses a need for size and probably rebounding and has some level of physical maturity that is better than an 18 year old. If this kid addresses some of those needs pretty well and is ready and willing, then a typical coach trying to strengthen his team is not going to pass on the kid if he lacks certain other desirable traits.

We'll have to see what this kid is like. He looks big, fairly athletic, and somebody who fights for rebounds. Right now, that is good enough for me. Every coach would prefer that every player has size, toughness, can finish inside or outside, has good ball handling skills, court vision, and a high basketball IQ, but you take what you can get.
 

cjbfbp said:
I'd say the prior poster has a bit of a point. It's silly to be constantly interpreting every move of Pitino as strictly consistent with some grand plan. There is an old saying: good business is where you find it. The same thing can be said about basketball players. What is most immediately apparent is that this kid addresses a need for size and probably rebounding and has some level of physical maturity that is better than an 18 year old. If this kid addresses some of those needs pretty well and is ready and willing, then a typical coach trying to strengthen his team is not going to pass on the kid if he lacks certain other desirable traits.

We'll have to see what this kid is like. He looks big, fairly athletic, and somebody who fights for rebounds. Right now, that is good enough for me. Every coach would prefer that every player has size, toughness, can finish inside or outside, has good ball handling skills, court vision, and a high basketball IQ, but you take what you can get.
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We'll see what happens when he gets on campus. I could see him playing both positions, I just think we needed a center in this class to develop behind Mo and EE and this guy seems to fit the description. If he's able to make an impact at PF next year that would be great. I just hope it doesn't hurt our chances with Illikainen if he does. A 4 year center and a grad transfer PF for this class makes the most sense to me personally and I think a lot of people here have said the same. We'll see what Pitino wants to do.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
We'll see what Pitino wants to do.
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Here's the point that eludes many here. What Pitino *wants* to do may not be exactly the same as what Pitino is *able* to do. I like the quote above:

"Good business is where you find it." Excellent perspective.
 

GopherJake said:
Here's the point that eludes many here. What Pitino *wants* to do may not be exactly the same as what Pitino is *able* to do. I like the quote above:

"Good business is where you find it." Excellent perspective.
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Ithink this is the key to what a lot of GH'ers are alluding to. We express what we want Coach Pitino to do, without being able to express that Coach P is able to do. And this is where Coach P is heads and tales above the rest of us.
 

Gotta love the GH couch coaches. Always know what's best.

If Pitino thinks that Diedhiou can contribute this upcoming season, we will see him playing. Nothing wrong with having options off the bench.
 

jaymil said:
A lot of posts in this thread are painful to read with posters thinking they know exactly how Gaston should be used, if he should redshirt, and what position he will/should play
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I love your post! You complain about posters thinking they know how to use Gaston... then you continue on by doing the exact same thing.
 


HOOP DREAMS said:
I love your post! You complain about posters thinking they know how to use Gaston... then you continue on by doing the exact same thing.
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Ummmm, I said in my post it was just my opinion and I'm not confident in my analysis. Meanwhile, you've been posting in this thread about how you expect Gaston to be able to contribute at PF next year. So no, I don't think my post is the exact same thing as what others have said, including you.
 


Yeah I don't see any way this kid (man) redshirts. We could have used his size and length this year.
 

Physically he should be ready to play next year but if Coach P thinks its best to RS him, I'm okay with that considering our depth. I'm as excited to see Gaston as I am Josh!
 

jaymil said:
you expect Gaston to be able to contribute at PF next year
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Not exactly accurate. However if he is unable to contribute next season as PF I would be disappointed for reasons listed in other posts.
 

He has freakishly long arms. Just by looking at his size......I see no reason why he couldn't play at PF or C.
 

I reserve judgment until GW Marquette guy comes on and claims he has been scouting him the whole time!!
 

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