Four-star recruit Assane Diop commits to the University of Colorado

Roll Tad.

Four-star recruit Assane Diop committed to the University of Colorado on Tuesday afternoon.

Colorado basketball secured their first five-star recruit in the Tad Boyle era in Cody Williams on November 9th.

Three-star recruit Courtney Anderson also committed to the Buffs on September 23rd.

Head coach Tad Boyle has assembled one of the best recruiting classes in Colorado basketball history.

Following Diop’s commitment, the Buffs have the 15th overall 2023 recruiting class according to 247sports.com. CU is currently listed at 28th overall on on3.com’s 2023 recruiting class rankings.

In a press release, Boyle spoke about Diop’s commitment.

“Really excited about Assane Diop,” Boyle said.  “He’s a terrific young man. First of all, great personality, and he’s going to be a great teammate.”

Moments after his announcement Diop had a few words about his decision.

“It just makes sense going there,” Diop said. “[Colorado] said, ‘we want you to come here.’ Not, ‘you might come here,’ they wanted me there.”

Diop is a Senegal native but has lived in Colorado for the last three years. In July, Diop enrolled at Accelerated Prep, a Denver-based prep school focused on developing young basketball players. Having spent time in the Denver area, Diop took note of the attention he received from Buffs’ fans prior to his commitment.

“I like their fans,” Diop said. “Every time, no matter what I do, they supported me.”

With the additions of Diop and Williams, Boyle has added a 6-foot-8 wing in Williams and a 6-foot-10 center in Diop addressing Colorado’s biggest weakness on this year’s current roster: size.

However, Boyle doesn’t see Diop as an interior player.

“He’s a guy that plays extremely hard; he’s got a huge ceiling,” Boyle said. “He has a great skill set for a big guy, he’s really not an interior guy. He’s really not a big.”

Boyle spoke further about Diop’s skillset.

“In today’s game of positionless basketball, he fits in really, really well because he can run the floor, he can block shots, dribble a ball, he’s becoming a better shooter and a good defender,” Boyle said. “He plays with energy and effort. He’s such a great teammate. He’s going to be a great addition to our program. He’s going to be a great Buff.”

As it currently stands, CU will have six of their top 10 all-time commits in the modern era on next year’s roster. Those players are Cody Williams, Lawson Lovering, KJ Simpson, Quincy Allen, Assane Diop and Nique Clifford.

Following the commitments of Diop and Williams, Colorado’s 2023 roster is currently one scholarship over the 13-scholarship limit. 

It’s a great problem to have.

Given the current landscape of college athletics, it’s possible that the transfer portal could come into play or that one or more Buffs could take their talents to the NBA.

Colorado’s basketball program is riding a tremendous wave of momentum after Sunday’s upset over the no. 11 Tennessee Volunteers. Monday, KJ Simpson was named the PAC-12 Player of the Week, averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in Colorado’s first three games.

This week the team heads into the Myrtle Beach Invitational where they will have three chances to build up their non-conference resume.

The Buffs are scheduled to play the first game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday against UMass at 11:30 a.m. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU.