Gaston Diedhiou Update

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Jon said:
Well this sucks; seems like we might go from being a sweet 16 team to a borderline NCAA team...
PG, SG, and Center play should be about the same--
SF might be about the same with Morris and McNeil replaying Austin--

Only hope for improvement was PF and now Martin has to step up.... Or 20 pounds more of King is somehow going to have to pass as better... Or maybe see if Mo can play PF and Konate can back up EE...

Oh well ...
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You think a completely unknown commodity in Diedhiou would take us from the bubble to the Sweet 16? Really?

It wasn't even a guarantee that he'd play this year.
 


I don't know why this is causing such angst. I suppose there's the real possibility that in disgust Gaston will look to another University. But if he's committed to the U, then it's not a big deal. There was speculation that one of the two new big men would red shirt anyway. He works on his English, passes whatever benchmarks need to be passed, and joins the team at semester.
 

Urbandale said:
I don't know why this is causing such angst. I suppose there's the real possibility that in disgust Gaston will look to another University. But if he's committed to the U, then it's not a big deal. There was speculation that one of the two new big men would red shirt anyway. He works on his English, passes whatever benchmarks need to be passed, and joins the team at semester.
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I don't think the angst is in regards to Gaston and what type of player he would be this year, but moreso in regards to the process and that this likely would not have happened at most other power conference schools.
 

I would rather add a 5th scholarship for the 2015 class than add Gaston half way though the year. So far Pitinio has this 2015 class strong, why not make it stronger?
 


PTalberg said:
I would rather add a 5th scholarship for the 2015 class than add Gaston half way though the year. So far Pitinio has this 2015 class strong, why not make it stronger?
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If Gaston is committed to playing here, and he improves his English proficiency enough to gain admission, you think Pitino is just going to tell him to hit the road? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Their still is a good chance a fifth scholarship opens up anyways, hell we could even have 6 open if Gaston decides to leave on his own accord, but I just don't see Pitino just giving up on Gaston if he wants to be here.
 

gopherlaney said:
They do not doubt his ability to learn English...they doubt his ability to take classes in English in the first week of September.
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What do they need, 12 credits per semester? Start him in 2 introductory math classes, a spanish class, and some other filler like PE. Add in the English ESL program. By January he'll be fine.

We know that he already speaks multiple languages (learning subsequent languages has been shown to be progressively easier), he passed the ACT in English, and he will now be immersed in an English speaking environment. Plus, he has far greater access to tutoring help than the typical student.

One thing that was tough on him is that unlike Konate, he wasn't in the U.S. when he was studying for the TOEFL.
 

Jon said:
Well this sucks; seems like we might go from being a sweet 16 team to a borderline NCAA team...
PG, SG, and Center play should be about the same--
SF might be about the same with Morris and McNeil replaying Austin--

Only hope for improvement was PF and now Martin has to step up.... Or 20 pounds more of King is somehow going to have to pass as better... Or maybe see if Mo can play PF and Konate can back up EE...

Oh well ...
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0% chance Mo and Elliot play together unless we have a major catastrophe on our hands. Diedhiou is rawer than a skinned kneecap, by all accounts, and probably wouldn't play much anyways. The PF rotation as of right now:

King 20-25mpg
Martin 10-15mpg
Buggs 5-10mpg

Not alot of opportunity for Gaston, even if he was eligible.
 

So apparently this person as has much power as Richard Pitino in deciding who is going to play basketball for the U of M .... that's just great.

Rachelle.jpg
 



Winasota Gopher said:
Thats deep man....
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On a par with, "The Zen philosopher, Basho, once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish," only Carl Spackler seemed a hell of a lot better socially adjusted than GW.
 

AO54 said:
except Athletes get a lot more support than your typical foreign student. He'll have no trouble learning the language and passing any freshman class.
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My thought as well, there is a lot more support available for a student-athlete than for your typical student, to deny him admittance because of this, when he has met all of the academic requirements, is beyond ridiculous.
 

PTalberg said:
I would rather add a 5th scholarship for the 2015 class than add Gaston half way though the year. So far Pitinio has this 2015 class strong, why not make it stronger?
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Since I know almost nothing about Gaston, this is the way I kind of feel. A Dorsey, McBrayer, Jarvis, Illikainen, Clarke class would be epic.
 

Mulligan said:
On a par with, "The Zen philosopher, Basho, once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish," only Carl Spackler seemed a hell of a lot better socially adjusted than GW.
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Not to nitpick, but I believe it was Ty Webb who quoted Basho...
 





but the university is expecting donations to build this Practice Facility? How do you deny potential recruits that have achieved what has been asked of them and in the same breath expect the public to donate to your cause. Admissions folks are high on their horse, no doubt. Why do the admissions and athletics depts not get along? Not familiar with this situation, can anyone explain?
 

I see his issues with English as being a matter of legitimate academic concern as opposed to any attempt at undercutting the basketball program. What bothers me is how we got to within days of the school year beginning before this came up. This is a May or June issue, if not sooner, not an August to almost September issue.
 

rsgopher said:
but the university is expecting donations to build this Practice Facility? How do you deny potential recruits that have achieved what has been asked of them and in the same breath expect the public to donate to your cause. Admissions folks are high on their horse, no doubt. Why do the admissions and athletics depts not get along? Not familiar with this situation, can anyone explain?
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One of the admissions requirements for people from other countries is to PASS THE TOEFL. He did not meet the requirement for this semester and will have to go through the same process as every other person that did not pass the TOEFL this year.


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Historically I think the U has placed to high of an emphasis on English/grammer, not sure what Gaston's situation is but if his reading and comprehension of the English language is sufficient I just don't see why he wasn't admitted. I don't see how he could of done well on the SAT or ACT if he wasn't fairly proficient in this.
 

The biggest concern with this is that I'm sure it makes Pitino livid. We don't need to an 'super anal admissions office' to the list of flaws the program has.
 

People on this thread should Google TOEFL. It has to do with a students ability to learn in the English language at the university level. Some of that is grammar but the majority is not.


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I bet pitino told the admissions office to not admit him due to the hot recruiting streak ;)


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gopherlaney said:
I bet pitino told the admissions office to not admit him due to the hot recruiting streak ;)

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I think we will find out what really happened come January. If he just sort of fades away, can we really 100% rule out this possibility? In that case, the admissions office is willing to "play ball" so to speak with the athletic department. If, on the other hand, he is still around the program and then is enrolled in January after passing his English test, then we have an annoying admissions office.
 

gopherlaney said:
I bet pitino told the admissions office to not admit him due to the hot recruiting streak ;)


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I'm guessing Pitino would like a minute alone with the head of admissions more than Bo Ryan would with every ref.
 

Jon said:
Well this sucks; seems like we might go from being a sweet 16 team to a borderline NCAA team...
PG, SG, and Center play should be about the same--
SF might be about the same with Morris and McNeil replaying Austin--

Only hope for improvement was PF and now Martin has to step up.... Or 20 pounds more of King is somehow going to have to pass as better... Or maybe see if Mo can play PF and Konate can back up EE...

Oh well ...
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Your posts are funny.
 

gopherlaney said:
One of the admissions requirements for people from other countries is to PASS THE TOEFL. He did not meet the requirement for this semester and will have to go through the same process as every other person that did not pass the TOEFL this year.
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Is there such a thing as "passing the TOEFL"? The U of M admissions director was quoted yesterday as saying there is no particular passing score. Basically it sounds like U admissions just decides when it wants to let him in.
 

PTalberg said:
I would rather add a 5th scholarship for the 2015 class than add Gaston half way though the year. So far Pitinio has this 2015 class strong, why not make it stronger?
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We made a commitment to this kid by agreeing to give him a scholarship. The idea that we can just yank it for very little reason and give it to someone else is a symptom of what's wrong with college sports today.

I hope this kid can get through this obstacle and go on with his basketball career and education.
 

WanderingGopher said:
Is there such a thing as "passing the TOEFL"? The U of M admissions director was quoted yesterday as saying there is no particular passing score. Basically it sounds like U admissions just decides when it wants to let him in.
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I read it the same way as you. I believe the admissions person (who seemed way too eager to talk about this publicly) said it was a decision made on a full-picture view of the student, not just one test as some on here might want us to believe.
 

WanderingGopher said:
Is there such a thing as "passing the TOEFL"? The U of M admissions director was quoted yesterday as saying there is no particular passing score. Basically it sounds like U admissions just decides when it wants to let him in.
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There is a min req'd score for admissions at the U. There are certain exemptions available.

PS- NLI = null & void if you have a written denial of admission.

PPS- certain other options available, generally not including being a degree seeking student immediately.
 

WanderingGopher said:
Is there such a thing as "passing the TOEFL"? The U of M admissions director was quoted yesterday as saying there is no particular passing score. Basically it sounds like U admissions just decides when it wants to let him in.
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This is correct. This was not simply not receiving a high enough score, but rather a concern about the total picture. Way too subjective for my tastes.
 

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