Last week, prior to a surprise postseason engagement, Tad Boyle said he wasn’t expecting further transfer portal losses following the departures of Courtney Anderson and Harrison Carrington.
Upon returning from a trip to Las Vegas that finally put an end to a 21-loss season, apparently forward Assane Diop dropped unexpected news on Colorado’s head coach.
On Thursday evening, The Athletic reported the 6-foot-8 sophomore forward has opted to leave the CU men’s basketball program via the transfer portal. BuffZone confirmed the news with a CU source, making Diop the fourth portal departure for the Buffs, although the loss of fourth-year guard Javon Ruffin was expected.
Boyle now has two roster spots to fill this spring, assuming he sticks to the previously stated plan of remaining at 13 scholarships.
One of three players to appear in all 35 games for the Buffs, Diop made 17 starts, including a run of 16 consecutive starts beginning with the third game of the season through a Jan. 21 home loss against BYU. Diop made only one more start as his playing time decreased over the final month of the season.
Diop played 14 minutes, 23 seconds during CU’s season-ending loss against Villanova on Tuesday in the first round of the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. He finished 0-for-2 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free throw line with three points and two rebounds.
Among CU’s regular rotation, Diop owned the top rebounds-per-minute mark and finished the season averaging 3.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. Diop shot just .389 from the field with a 5-for-25 mark on 3-pointers. He scored a career-high 15 points against Bellarmine in the nonconference finale on Dec. 21 and twice grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, first during a double-overtime win against Northern Colorado in the second game of the season and again during a Feb. 15 home win against Central Florida that ended CU’s 0-13 start in the Big 12.
A native of Senegal, Diop moved to Colorado and spent time during his prep career at Belleview Christian, Denver Prep Academy and Accelerated Prep. He played in 32 games during his freshman season in 2023-24 but averaged just 7.0 minutes per appearance.
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