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Pitt Misses on Another Big Man as Ibrahima Diallo picks Ohio State

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Pitt head coach Jeff Capel’s search for help in the paint in the recruiting class of 2019 has been fraught with setbacks, and another one occurred on Sunday, as 7-foot Prolific Prep center Ibrahima Diallo committed to Ohio State.

Diallo, a three-star prospect that’s originally from Senegal, had narrowed things down to the Buckeyes and Pitt as his final two options.

But as has happened so many times for Capel in this recruiting cycle, the big man chose to pursue his collegiate career elsewhere, with Chris Holtmann and company in Columbus.

Pitt has notably missed out on Akok Akok (UConn), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Tyrese Samuel (Seton Hall), Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia), Qudus Wahab (Georgetown) and Anthony Walker (Miami) among others.

The one thing that Capel and his staff deserve credit for is that they’ve seemingly never run out of intriguing options, and that remains the case, even with Diallo committing to Ohio State.

Junior college transfers Khadim Sy (6-foot-10, 245 pounds) and Emmanuel Ugboh (6-foot-11, 245 pounds) both visited the Panthers last week. Sy is a former Virginia Tech commit and is rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals. He’s also reportedly considering Auburn, East Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU and Texas Tech.

Ugboh, who is from Lagos, Nigeria and playing at Iowa Western Community College, has offers from a ton of top schools, including Arizona, UConn, Kansas State, LSU and Ole Miss.

Pitt has also recently hosted forward Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua (6-foot-8, 210 pounds), a Helsinki, Finland native playing for Bishop Walsh High School in Cumberland, Maryland.

The Panthers have earned one big man commitment, from 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward Karim Coulibaly of Scotland Campus Sports. Capel and his staff have four more open scholarships to work with.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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ericmoreland
4 years ago

No surprise. Ibrahima started following Kahdim Sy’s Twitter page when his visit was announced. I believe that the Panthers will get Sy AND Nkamhoua – which is a much better scenario. Diallo would have been a project and Sy is ready to play now. Nkamhoua is ready now too and would make a really nice starting PF. In fact, if they can land Manny Ugboh too, the front court would instantly be among the best in the ACC.

 
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