Rick Pitino Fills a Louisville Need with Recruit Gorgui Sy Dieng

Everybody in Louisville had to be sad about the departure of Samardo Samuels. He had many thinking about the development of the program—me included.

When Louisville lost Samuels they lost a consistent scorer and rebounder. Not to mention, he was Louisville’s top rebounder and scorer.

How long did you think Rick Pitino would take before he found his replacement? I had seen the recruiting possibilities, and before the Derby Classic game, I noticed Louisville had a similar player on the recruiting list.

After the Derby Classic, Louisville got a glimpse of what the kid could do.

In the game he had scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Think this: The numbers he produced came to the peers that he will be facing for a long time to come. If he can dominate the post like that all the time, Louisville has one heck of a player.

Other programs got a glimpse as well, and he started gaining a lot of attention after his performance. He did not disappoint and he came away with “white team MVP.”

But in the end, the Senegal native gave Louisville a verbal agreement.

Gorgui Sy Dieng, the high school teammate of future freshman star Justin Coleman, has made his college decision. Dieng will be attending the University of Louisville.

He is listed as a 2011 prospect but Dieng assures everyone that he will be playing on this Louisville team next year—according to Scout.com’s Evan Daniels.

Dieng is no big recruit, but with the departure of Samuels Pitino needed another player to bolster Louisville’s frontcourt. That is exactly what he got in this pick and it could not have come at a better time.

Dieng has been on Pitino’s radar for some time now and I have to say that this deal was just waiting to happen.

Dieng can come right in and help this depleted frontcourt. He is not a total upgrade but he is not a downgrade either.