Height: 7'0"
Weight: 226
Hometown: Senegal
School: Prolific Prep (CA)
Position: Center
-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
- Thread starter brodybuck21
- Start date
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 226
Hometown: Senegal
School: Prolific Prep (CA)
Position: Center
IBRAHIMA DIALLO'S PATH FROM SENEGAL MAKES HIM POSSIBLE LATE ADDITION TO OHIO STATE'S 2019 RECRUITING CLASS
Colin Hass-Hill on February 27, 2019 at 10:25 am @chasshill
Twitter/@ibrahimaa24
Email this ArticleShare on RedditShare on TwitterShare on Facebook1.4k
69 COMMENTS
Tears fell. Lots of them.
The first bout of weeping came when Senegal-born Ibrahima Diallo told his mother he wanted to leave Africa and complete his secondary education in the United States while pursuing a collegiate basketball scholarship with an eventual goal of playing in the NBA. Diallo was just entering high school when he approached his parents about leaving his native continent.
“My mom just started crying like every day because she knows I really want to do this and she wanted me to go follow my dream, but she was saying that's going to be hard for them,” Diallo said on Friday. “Just letting your son just go to another life like so far and don't know nobody there.”
Then came Diallo’s sobs.
He understood what – and who – he was losing by crossing the Atlantic Ocean by himself, eventually enrolling at Victory Rock Prep in Florida which he attended before transferring to Prolific Prep in California for his senior season. But for a while after making the move, Diallo couldn’t control the overwhelming sadness brought on by the ocean separating him from his family.
“Oh my goodness. In my old school, my first month, I was crying every day,” Diallo said. “I would say, like, 'I'm not going to practice. Just send me back home.' I was just saying, like, I don't want to play basketball anymore, just send me back home. It was the hardest thing to wake up every day and not see your parents. It's so hard, it's so hard.”
Diallo still misses his family, of course, but he’s learned how to cope with the distance.
Diallo remembers playing in front of a Buckeyes coach in Orlando during the summer but didn’t hear from the program until about four months ago when his high school coach heard from Ohio State. Since then, he has stayed in contact with Chris Holtmann and assistant coach Mike Schrage.
The interest has ramped up recently, Diallo said, with the Buckeyes seeming open to adding a fourth player to their 2019 class that currently consists of three four-star signees: point guard DJ Carton, forward Alonzo Gaffney and forward E.J. Liddell.
“They said they didn't have a scholarship for 2019, but he said now they changed their mind, so they really need me to come play,” Diallo said.
Diallo, who has scholarship offers from DePaul, Florida State and South Florida, recently visited Pittsburgh and intends to check out LSU, as well.
Ohio State hasn’t offered Diallo a scholarship, but he said the coaches want him to visit Columbus in March. He expects that trip to happen, even though he also wants to make a college decision that month.
“I'm going to go,” Diallo said. “I'm going to go, for sure.”
Diallo called Holtmann an “honest guy” who “knows basketball.”
“I know he knows a lot, and he can help me a lot about basketball to develop if I go to that school,” Diallo said. “Ohio State is like a big-time school, so every player would like to play at Ohio State because there's a lot of pros who went to that school. And I know they've got a good program because I used to watch their games before they're looking at me.”
In the future, Diallo hopes to make it to the NBA. So most of his conversations with Holtmann center on the game of basketball and how the 7-footer might fit into the team’s frontcourt.
“They say they like my energy, like the fact I run the floor,” Diallo said. “Like my defense, how hard I play for every possession. That's the thing they like about me. They like that, and they think I would be helping them a lot, like the way I play hard, it's going to be really good for them.”
For a 7-foot, 226-pound teenager, Diallo moves well. He doesn’t plod when he runs, which stems from his athletic background in the sport almost every kid in Africa grows up playing.
Before ever playing basketball, Diallo played soccer. As a kid, he never liked basketball. His family viewed it as a “soft sport,” and he had only one friend playing it so he saw no reason to leave soccer.
But with each added inch, peer pressure to turn to basketball increased.
“I was just getting taller and taller, so if I play soccer, a lot of the people, they laugh at me,” Diallo said. “I was good, though, in soccer. But they just laugh at me and say, 'Bro, you tall. You need to go play basketball.' And I just got one friend who played basketball. Everyone was telling me the same thing, same thing, every day.”
In 2012, Diallo’s dad finally told his son he agreed with everyone saying he should give basketball a try. So he offered Diallo an incentive: a pair of black Jordan sneakers.
Diallo obliged, though he admits when he began playing basketball, he liked the shoes more than the sport.
“I didn't have no idea I was going to attempt to go to the United States one day and play basketball. I just like the shoes, and that shoes just made me play basketball. The Jordan shoes,” Diallo said. “Because I liked that shoe so bad, so I'm like, 'All right, I want to go now.'”
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-late-addition-to-ohio-states-2019-recruiting
Colin Hass-Hill on February 27, 2019 at 10:25 am @chasshill
Twitter/@ibrahimaa24
Email this ArticleShare on RedditShare on TwitterShare on Facebook1.4k
69 COMMENTS
Tears fell. Lots of them.
The first bout of weeping came when Senegal-born Ibrahima Diallo told his mother he wanted to leave Africa and complete his secondary education in the United States while pursuing a collegiate basketball scholarship with an eventual goal of playing in the NBA. Diallo was just entering high school when he approached his parents about leaving his native continent.
“My mom just started crying like every day because she knows I really want to do this and she wanted me to go follow my dream, but she was saying that's going to be hard for them,” Diallo said on Friday. “Just letting your son just go to another life like so far and don't know nobody there.”
Then came Diallo’s sobs.
He understood what – and who – he was losing by crossing the Atlantic Ocean by himself, eventually enrolling at Victory Rock Prep in Florida which he attended before transferring to Prolific Prep in California for his senior season. But for a while after making the move, Diallo couldn’t control the overwhelming sadness brought on by the ocean separating him from his family.
“Oh my goodness. In my old school, my first month, I was crying every day,” Diallo said. “I would say, like, 'I'm not going to practice. Just send me back home.' I was just saying, like, I don't want to play basketball anymore, just send me back home. It was the hardest thing to wake up every day and not see your parents. It's so hard, it's so hard.”
Diallo still misses his family, of course, but he’s learned how to cope with the distance.
Diallo remembers playing in front of a Buckeyes coach in Orlando during the summer but didn’t hear from the program until about four months ago when his high school coach heard from Ohio State. Since then, he has stayed in contact with Chris Holtmann and assistant coach Mike Schrage.
The interest has ramped up recently, Diallo said, with the Buckeyes seeming open to adding a fourth player to their 2019 class that currently consists of three four-star signees: point guard DJ Carton, forward Alonzo Gaffney and forward E.J. Liddell.
“They said they didn't have a scholarship for 2019, but he said now they changed their mind, so they really need me to come play,” Diallo said.
Diallo, who has scholarship offers from DePaul, Florida State and South Florida, recently visited Pittsburgh and intends to check out LSU, as well.
Ohio State hasn’t offered Diallo a scholarship, but he said the coaches want him to visit Columbus in March. He expects that trip to happen, even though he also wants to make a college decision that month.
“I'm going to go,” Diallo said. “I'm going to go, for sure.”
Diallo called Holtmann an “honest guy” who “knows basketball.”
“I know he knows a lot, and he can help me a lot about basketball to develop if I go to that school,” Diallo said. “Ohio State is like a big-time school, so every player would like to play at Ohio State because there's a lot of pros who went to that school. And I know they've got a good program because I used to watch their games before they're looking at me.”
In the future, Diallo hopes to make it to the NBA. So most of his conversations with Holtmann center on the game of basketball and how the 7-footer might fit into the team’s frontcourt.
“They say they like my energy, like the fact I run the floor,” Diallo said. “Like my defense, how hard I play for every possession. That's the thing they like about me. They like that, and they think I would be helping them a lot, like the way I play hard, it's going to be really good for them.”
For a 7-foot, 226-pound teenager, Diallo moves well. He doesn’t plod when he runs, which stems from his athletic background in the sport almost every kid in Africa grows up playing.
Before ever playing basketball, Diallo played soccer. As a kid, he never liked basketball. His family viewed it as a “soft sport,” and he had only one friend playing it so he saw no reason to leave soccer.
But with each added inch, peer pressure to turn to basketball increased.
“I was just getting taller and taller, so if I play soccer, a lot of the people, they laugh at me,” Diallo said. “I was good, though, in soccer. But they just laugh at me and say, 'Bro, you tall. You need to go play basketball.' And I just got one friend who played basketball. Everyone was telling me the same thing, same thing, every day.”
In 2012, Diallo’s dad finally told his son he agreed with everyone saying he should give basketball a try. So he offered Diallo an incentive: a pair of black Jordan sneakers.
Diallo obliged, though he admits when he began playing basketball, he liked the shoes more than the sport.
“I didn't have no idea I was going to attempt to go to the United States one day and play basketball. I just like the shoes, and that shoes just made me play basketball. The Jordan shoes,” Diallo said. “Because I liked that shoe so bad, so I'm like, 'All right, I want to go now.'”
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-late-addition-to-ohio-states-2019-recruiting
Upvote
0
Pitt Center Target Ibrahima Diallo Close to Decision
“I was very impressed by the people I met (at Pitt). Everybody I spoke with liked the school. The coaching staff, the players, the people were all very nice there. They were amazing,” said Diallo. “I really like the Pitt program. The Oakland Zoo was amazing. There were a lot of things I liked about the school. It would be a great opportunity and I really enjoyed my visit.”
“I felt pretty good chemistry (with the Pitt players). We didn’t talk about playing time. You are going to earn your playing time so we didn’t discuss that. I’m in touch with someone from the Pitt staff every day.”
Diallo is down to three schools: Pitt, Ohio State and LSU. He plans on visiting Ohio State this weekend. Ibrahima indicated that Ohio State and LSU have yet to offer a scholarship but one may be offered during the official visit. He has yet to solidify a visit date with LSU. Florida State, South Florida and DePaul had previously extended scholarship offers.
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/03/06/pitt-center-target-ibrahima-diallo-close-to-decision/
“I was very impressed by the people I met (at Pitt). Everybody I spoke with liked the school. The coaching staff, the players, the people were all very nice there. They were amazing,” said Diallo. “I really like the Pitt program. The Oakland Zoo was amazing. There were a lot of things I liked about the school. It would be a great opportunity and I really enjoyed my visit.”
“I felt pretty good chemistry (with the Pitt players). We didn’t talk about playing time. You are going to earn your playing time so we didn’t discuss that. I’m in touch with someone from the Pitt staff every day.”
Diallo is down to three schools: Pitt, Ohio State and LSU. He plans on visiting Ohio State this weekend. Ibrahima indicated that Ohio State and LSU have yet to offer a scholarship but one may be offered during the official visit. He has yet to solidify a visit date with LSU. Florida State, South Florida and DePaul had previously extended scholarship offers.
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/03/06/pitt-center-target-ibrahima-diallo-close-to-decision/
Upvote
0
IBRAHIMA DIALLO TO VISIT OHIO STATE THIS WEEKEND
Colin Hass-Hill on March 7, 2019 at 1:57 pm @chasshill
Twitter/@ibrahimaa24
Email this ArticleShare on RedditShare on TwitterShare on Facebook62
3 COMMENTS
Ibrahima Diallo, a 2019 center who plays for Prolific Prep in California, will visit Ohio State this weekend, he told Eleven Warriors. The visit was first reported by Stockrisers' Jake Weingarten.
Diallo is an unranked 7-foot, 226-pound center who moved from Senegal. He doesn't have an offer from Ohio State, but has received scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, DePaul, Florida State and South Florida. Diallo recently visited Pittsburgh and also plans to check out LSU.
RELATED Ibrahima Diallo's Path From Senegal Makes Him Possible Late Addition To Ohio State's 2019 Recruiting Class
The Buckeyes already have three players signed in their 2019 recruiting class – four-star point guard DJ Carton and four-star forwards E.J. Liddell and Alonzo Gaffney – but they have shown interest in both Diallo and in-state wing Ben Roderick in the past couple months. They also appeared as a finalist of four-star guard Lester Quinones, though they're viewed as a long shot.
Ohio State has an open scholarship next season due to Micah Potter's transfer before the beginning of the 2018-19 season, but it seemed content to stick with three 2019 recruits until being linked with Roderick and Diallo.
“They said they didn't have a scholarship for 2019, but he said now they changed their mind, so they really need me to come play,” Diallo said a couple weeks ago.
Diallo said Ohio State contacted his high school coach about four months ago and has since remained in contact with Chris Holtmann and Mike Schrage.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...a5yqqTyCVTw7qlKEpy3DhN9tAWLvzwsTXcxjQGpji8pXM
Colin Hass-Hill on March 7, 2019 at 1:57 pm @chasshill
Twitter/@ibrahimaa24
Email this ArticleShare on RedditShare on TwitterShare on Facebook62
3 COMMENTS
Ibrahima Diallo, a 2019 center who plays for Prolific Prep in California, will visit Ohio State this weekend, he told Eleven Warriors. The visit was first reported by Stockrisers' Jake Weingarten.
Diallo is an unranked 7-foot, 226-pound center who moved from Senegal. He doesn't have an offer from Ohio State, but has received scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, DePaul, Florida State and South Florida. Diallo recently visited Pittsburgh and also plans to check out LSU.
RELATED Ibrahima Diallo's Path From Senegal Makes Him Possible Late Addition To Ohio State's 2019 Recruiting Class
The Buckeyes already have three players signed in their 2019 recruiting class – four-star point guard DJ Carton and four-star forwards E.J. Liddell and Alonzo Gaffney – but they have shown interest in both Diallo and in-state wing Ben Roderick in the past couple months. They also appeared as a finalist of four-star guard Lester Quinones, though they're viewed as a long shot.
Ohio State has an open scholarship next season due to Micah Potter's transfer before the beginning of the 2018-19 season, but it seemed content to stick with three 2019 recruits until being linked with Roderick and Diallo.
“They said they didn't have a scholarship for 2019, but he said now they changed their mind, so they really need me to come play,” Diallo said a couple weeks ago.
Diallo said Ohio State contacted his high school coach about four months ago and has since remained in contact with Chris Holtmann and Mike Schrage.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...a5yqqTyCVTw7qlKEpy3DhN9tAWLvzwsTXcxjQGpji8pXM
Upvote
0
OhioState001
Tressel Loyalist
I'm all for bringing this kid in. We need new bodies and anyone with that type of size is valuable to have on your bench even if it's just to be a defender against another big guy
Upvote
0
nomatta
Hall of Fame
I'm pretty conflicted here, especially as Roderick continues to tear it up in HS play. Diallo is, realistically, a couple years away from being a contributor at this level. But the potential is great with him, and honestly it's just been so painful watching these past two games without any interior length that I could kind of go either way on wanting us to offer or not. Good thing I'm not the coach.
Upvote
0
OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
the silver lining of diallo's wisconsin visit is that he got to see a team completely devoid of anything remotely reminiscent of a 5 when kaleb is off the court. i'm sure the staff also impressed upon on diallo that kaleb is prone to foul, which invites immediate playing time. finally, diallo being a freshman while kaleb is a junior should be attractive.
my guess is we find out tomorrow (monday) if osu is serious enough to offer.
my guess is we find out tomorrow (monday) if osu is serious enough to offer.
Upvote
0
OhioState001
Tressel Loyalist
Enjoy a big picture of Ibrahima with a very small video playing in the corner
Since I think there is a pretty decent chance he will be coming here I've been trying to watch some more film. While there is little out there, and while I don't know much about evaluating basketball talent, I would think this kid has a good possibility of red-shirting next year.
Most of the highlights focus on offense so I couldn't really see how he was defensively, but it didn't really seem like he was used much on offense. Which is a bit concerning that a 7 foot kid can't be more of a threat against high school competition. He also looks a little awkward on his feet. I still really want to bring him in because you can't teach that size, but let's redshirt him and tuck him away for a couple years and he will probably give some teams fits with his defense.
In the meantime I don't know what LeDee is thinking for next year but I don't think Diallo is much of a threat to steal minutes from him yet. I hope he's a kid who is willing to wait his turn and develop.
Since I think there is a pretty decent chance he will be coming here I've been trying to watch some more film. While there is little out there, and while I don't know much about evaluating basketball talent, I would think this kid has a good possibility of red-shirting next year.
Most of the highlights focus on offense so I couldn't really see how he was defensively, but it didn't really seem like he was used much on offense. Which is a bit concerning that a 7 foot kid can't be more of a threat against high school competition. He also looks a little awkward on his feet. I still really want to bring him in because you can't teach that size, but let's redshirt him and tuck him away for a couple years and he will probably give some teams fits with his defense.
In the meantime I don't know what LeDee is thinking for next year but I don't think Diallo is much of a threat to steal minutes from him yet. I hope he's a kid who is willing to wait his turn and develop.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
no reported offer during or immediately after diallo's visit, so it looks like osu is content to play this one a little slower, which perhaps represents their level of interest. or maybe the program is still looking over diallo's transcripts. i don't know. regardless, it makes little sense not to offer while a recruit is under your roof if you want him to join the team.
if nothing materializes with diallo, my guess is that he's not the last 2019 target who plays in the post. i think the staff will send out plenty of feelers to grad transfers who can play the 5. maybe even the right kind of juco player. conventional transfers who play in the post will certainly be a consideration, though obviously none would be able to suit up for 2019. as mentioned, diallo looks like a redshirt candidate anyway.
if nothing materializes with diallo, my guess is that he's not the last 2019 target who plays in the post. i think the staff will send out plenty of feelers to grad transfers who can play the 5. maybe even the right kind of juco player. conventional transfers who play in the post will certainly be a consideration, though obviously none would be able to suit up for 2019. as mentioned, diallo looks like a redshirt candidate anyway.
Upvote
0
OhioState001
Tressel Loyalist
Some more tape, he looks a little better here, runs the floor really fast. Offense still limited to open dunks mostly
Upvote
0
nomatta
Hall of Fame
247 profile now shows an OSU offer but I haven't seen it reported anywhere.
Prep coach thinks it will be Pitt or OSU.
https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/...9-center-ibrahima-diallo-takes-official-visit
Prep coach thinks it will be Pitt or OSU.
https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/...9-center-ibrahima-diallo-takes-official-visit
Upvote
0
LitlBuck
Kevin Warren is an ass
According to the article linked below by Helwagen on 247, Diallo states that he really enjoyed his visit to Ohio State and sort of insinuates that he has an offer. Also says that he might visit one or two more schools and that he is hearing from more schools now.
https://247sports.com/Article/Ohio-...Ibrahima-Diallo-for-official-visit-129962722/
https://247sports.com/Article/Ohio-...Ibrahima-Diallo-for-official-visit-129962722/
Upvote
0
OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
certainly sounds like we're in a great spot for diallo.
something to consider here as a huge positive for osu is the city of columbus. diallo is here alone. he has no family in the states. the move has been difficult on him and especially his mother. columbus affords him the possibility of a connection to his home that most of the other competing schools can't offer. central ohio has a very large (comparatively) population from africa. africa is a massive continent of diverse cultures, but it still might mean something to diallo. heck, there are two senegalese restaurants in columbus. pittsburgh has none. i don't know the population of senegalese in central ohio, but you're not going to have two restaurants without some kind of community.
something to consider here as a huge positive for osu is the city of columbus. diallo is here alone. he has no family in the states. the move has been difficult on him and especially his mother. columbus affords him the possibility of a connection to his home that most of the other competing schools can't offer. central ohio has a very large (comparatively) population from africa. africa is a massive continent of diverse cultures, but it still might mean something to diallo. heck, there are two senegalese restaurants in columbus. pittsburgh has none. i don't know the population of senegalese in central ohio, but you're not going to have two restaurants without some kind of community.
Upvote
0