JUCO center picks Purdue for mix of academics, athletics
Before Fatou Diagne took her official visit to Purdue late last month, she wanted to find out more about the school.
Specifically, she wanted to know more her intended major.
“I didn’t know a lot of the specifics about their international business (program),” said Diagne, who committed on Tuesday afternoon. “Before I came on my visit, I told Purdue I was interested in international business, so when I came to (the campus), they could tell me more.
“And (also), I know I can contribute to the team. They said they need a post."
Diagne liked what she saw, academically and athletically, and became the fourth commitment to Sharon Versyp’s 2017 class, joining Dawson College (Montreal) teammates Tamara Farquhar and Leony Boudreau and Ohio’s Dani Lawson. The 6-foot-5 post from Gulf Coast State College, a J.C. in Panama City, Fla., might be the most highly regarded. Girls Collegiate Basketball Report ranks her as the seventh-best JUCO nationally, and she chose Purdue over Tennessee, Kentucky and UMass, where she had also visited.
“I feel myself there,” Diagne said of Purdue. “It’s like a family.”
Diagne will be Purdue’s second player from Senegal, joining Aya Traore, a fellow J.C. transfer who played in West Lafayette from 2003-06. Traore is now the captain of the Senegal National Team, leading it in this summer's Rio Olympics.
Diagne, who speaks Wolof as her native language and English as a second, says she knows Traore, but didn’t know of the Purdue connection until recently.
Last season, Diagne was forced to redshirt at Gulf Coast because of an injured shoulder — it popped out during the first week of practices, then required surgery — giving her three years of eligibility at Purdue starting in 2017-18.
And she’ll get a chance to get at least one season before that, starting her redshirt freshman year now at Gulf Coast.
“I’m really excited and nervous because it will be my first time playing American basketball,” Diagne said. “It will be a new experience for me.”
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