US college basketball sensation Gorgui Dieng has made his native country of Senegal proud by playing a large role in the Louisville Cardinals’ victory in the recent NCAA National Championship.
Following his impressive junior season, Dieng is set to bypass his final year of athletic collegiate eligibility in favour of entering the NBA. By all accounts, the six-foot-11 centre is expected to be drafted in the first round.
Dieng’s rise to stardom has been a progressive elevation since high school, where the big man literally stood above his competition and dominated game in and game out. He gained attention Stateside after being named most valuable player (MVP) of a Nike-sponsored basketball camp in South Africa, and soon after he moved to America to further his hoops training.
Since then, his development during his collegiate career has been steady. He only saw limited playing time during his first year at the University of Louisville, but made the most out of those minutes by posting solid statistics.
Dieng then set the school’s single-season record for blocked shots during his sophomore year. Basketball experts around the country quickly began to take notice of the centre’s defensive ability, size and athleticism, and were eager to see how much more he could improve his game by this season.
Sure enough, Dieng had his best year yet by averaging nearly 10 points and 10 rebounds per game, to go along with an impressive rate of 2.5 blocks per game.
His college playing days reached a grand conclusion just a few weeks ago under the biggest spotlight possible: the national championship game against the University of Michigan. Dieng had a great all-around performance, posting eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
The combined efforts of Dieng and his team-mates ultimately overcame that of the opposing Michigan Wolverines. The Cardinals ended the season by cutting down the nets, a long-standing tradition that the national champions use to symbolise that they are the last team standing.
“Everything he does, he doesn’t believe in [just] being good,” said Rick Pitino, the Hall of Fame head coach of Louisville. “He wants to be great at it.”
Still only 23 years old, Dieng is mature beyond his years. He reportedly became fluent in English in less than six months after knowing close to nothing, and apparently excelled in his SAT college admission test shortly after arriving in the US.
Currently he studies communication at Louisville – an important skill for a professional sports world that requires media savvy. He says, however, that he would prefer to focus on engineering, though his busy basketball schedule doesn’t allow the time for it.
Dieng has a smart head on his shoulders and clearly understands that basketball will only be a short phase in his life, despite his potential as a professional player. Most people in his position become consumed by the glamour of the NBA lifestyle, but Dieng is focused on life’s big picture. Moreover, he is a grown man that is becoming a national icon to his home in Senegal both for the success he has had on the basketball court and with the poise and humility he displays off of it.
“I want to go back home and kind of give back [to] the people that helped me, took care of me, playing basketball, with school,” he said recently. “I want to go back home and do the same thing for the kids.”
When asked what is most important to him in life, Dieng wisely reeled off a list of rules that he abides by: “Being disciplined. Respect everybody. Enjoy the moment.”
