Moustapha Diagne will not be a part of the 2015-2016 Syracuse basketball team.
Assumed Syracuse Orange freshman Moustapha Diagne will not enroll at Syracuse this fall, as reported by Mike Waters of Syracuse.com.
Story: #Syracuse recruit Moustapha Diagne will enroll at a 2-year school and not SU this fall. http://t.co/YTDYFLJtaO
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) August 20, 2015
Instead, Diagne plans to enroll at a junior college, although it remains unclear as to where he will attend. Diagne was expected to spell DaJuan Coleman at the center spot in the zone, and play the forward position as well. The loss certainly hurts Syracuse's already limited depth, and the interior defense will be called into question.
It would be unfair to expect Coleman to play the minutes Rakeem Christmas played last year, especially with his health. It looks as though Chinonso Obokoh will backup Coleman as the anchor of the 2-3 -- he won't be relied on to score much, he just has to play solid defense. This is where the loss of Chris McCullough hurts (again) as McCullough was capable of playing the center. Tyler Roberson could slide over to the center spot, but that would be asking a lot of him, and Syracuse would be less effective.
The loss brings Syracuse down to 10 scholarship players, which means the Orange could begin its scholarship penalty this season. The NCAA has yet to respond to Syracuse's appeal, which could open up another scholarship. Whether or not the coaching staff continues to recruit Diagne remains to be seen. We'll have more on this as the story develops.
