Yacine Diop Becomes A Card -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PITTSBURGH RED-SHIRT SENIOR TRANSFER HEADED TO LOUISVILLE

The Derby festival weekend might have done it. Maybe she was impressed with Walz's softball pitch delivery. It could have been Sam Purcell's wardrobe. Playing for a team that won 30+ games last year could have been a factor. Whatever the reason, Yacine Diop's weekend visit to Louisville has turned into a Monday commitment to come to Louisville and play a year for the Cardinals. 

She'll have a year in the KFC YUM! Center and was the leading scorer and rebounder last year for the struggling Panthers. A team that loses head coach Susie McConnell-Serio. How much that played into the factor of coming to Louisville....we're not sure.

As head Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and the Cards wait for the official paperwork to arrive in Louisville, Walz most likely will have an official statement when the "papers are in hand". Maybe even a Derby pick or two?

Let's take a look at Diop's student-athlete resume so far, shall we? 

She was a starter in all 32 games her first year at Pitt. Ended up the third leading scorer (9.4 ppg) and second leading board grabber (7.2). She also had five double-doubles and made the All-ACC Academic Team. 

As a sophomore, she started all 31 games and was the second leading scorer at 10.4 ppg. She poured in 26 points vs. Michigan for a season high and got five steals against Louisville. During the trials for the Senegal National team over the 2016 summer, though...she suffered a stress fracture in her foot and was lost for the entire 2016-17 season to the Panthers. 

She lost nothing in her game, however, when she returned for her red-shirt junior season. Leading scorer, leading rebounder and one of the lone bright spots on a troubled Pitt squad. She rang up 26 points twice ( Louisville and Wake Forest) and had a season high 15 rebounds against Duke. 

Diop, a 5'10" "3" forward can easily go to the "2" guard if needed....possessing an effective outside shot and great rebounding skills. How she'll fit in to a Louisville lineup that returns all but graduated Myisha Hines-Allen and transfer Syd Zambrotta is going to be a top discussion topic over the summer and fall. The Cards have depth and incoming freshmen at the "3" and a full roster. How will Walz keep all the players happy? 

Remember what Coach says: 

"It's not necessary for me to keep them happy. They need to keep me happy." 

(Rumors are the Panther is looking to transfer also...)  

Diop majored in rhetoric and communications at Pitt. Rhetoric is defined as language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content. 

(Make your own one-liner here on that definition in regards to her understanding of Walz...) 


I can see her as a "off the bench" player to spell Jaz or maybe one of the "bigs" and giving opponents nightmares with her propensity for scoring and her talent at rebounding. It's way too early to know just what Jeff will use her for...but her talent is unmistakable and will be a great addition to a Cardinal lineup that lacks very little.

An incident her sophomore year (2015) which involved aggravated assault and disorderly conduct was stricken from her record and all charges were dropped after 100 hours of community service. In a statement, she "expressed sincere regret being involved in the incident and vowed to exercise better judgement in the future."  

None of us are perfect. The key here is learning from an error and, from all accounts, Diop has been a model citizen since. Youth leads to maturity. People get second chances every day. Louisville even gave Bobby Petrino one. 
.

The sisters experiment ends at Pitt

Diop's decision to forego her final year at Pitt and come to Louisville could quite possibly correlate with the messy McConnell-Serio dismissal. Transfers were a on-going scenario at Pitt the last three years. At the end of 2015-16, three-point specialist Fred Potvin and leading scorer Stasha Carey left. 2016-17's end brought a departure of leading scorer Brenna Wise (to Indiana). Beside Diop...at the end of this year...Aysia Bugg and Kalista Walters allegedly sought releases. 

McConnell-Serio's firing may have stemmed from player allegations and complaints of verbal and other types of abuse. It warranted Pitt bringing in an outside firm to investigate the situation. The results of the investigation were not made public but a coaching change was made in early April -- the Panthers replaced McConnell-Serio with Florida State assistant Lance White. 

Basketball turmoil in the Iron City. First Kevin Stalllings and then Susie.  

Diop has three brothers and a sister. She spent a year at Oak Hill Academy after finishing high school at Pittsburgh's Seton-La Salle. She speaks (3) languages...English, French and Wolof (a regional Senegalese language). 

Welcome your newest Cardinal.....YACINE DIOP !!!!!