Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs knew replacing All-American Graham Ike was going to be a difficult and expensive task.
Braden Huff is one of the most talented scorers in college basketball, and pairing him with someone who could protect the rim and offer physicality on the glass was crucial for this team to remain in the national championship conversation.
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The Zags arguably could not have done better than Massamba Diop, a 7’1 center from Arizona State who committed to the program back in April after a lengthy pursuit by Gonzaga and St. John’s.
And while the exact dollar figure isn’t known, it’s estimated to have cost Gonzaga a pretty penny. Or about $5M pretty pennies.
On3 revealed the top ten NIL valuations in college sports on Tuesday, revealing who they believe are the highest-paid players in the country.
Diop was ninth overall on the list and fifth among college basketball players, behind Milan Momcilovic (Kentucky), Flory Bidunga (Louisville), Tounde Yessoufou (St. John’s), and Thomas Haugh (Florida), who were numbers two, three, six, and seven, respectively.
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Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (1), Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (4), Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (5), and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (8) were the football players listed, while Kansas freshman wing and former Gonzaga recruiting target Tyran Stokes was No. 10.
It was estimated during the transfer portal season that quality big men were going for $4-5 million, and Diop is arguably the second-best frontcourt player from the portal outside of Bidunga – so the $5M figure likely isn’t too far off. Whether he’s actually the fifth highest-paid player in college basketball or not is impossible to know, but Gonzaga didn’t pry him from coach Pitino and St. John’s with chump change.
Diop turned plenty of heads last year with the Sun Devils, averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks as a freshman for coach Bobby Hurley’s team. His ability to alter shots at the basket is what Gonzaga covets the most, but he’s also an excellent screener and rim runner who can step out and hit a jump shot.
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Diop also has room to grow, and coming into a Zag system that thrives with two big men will give him a chance to develop his offensive game even more – although Gonzaga must find a point guard who can get him the rock following Mario Saint-Supery’s surprise return to Spain in mid-July.
A few other players that were on Gonzaga’s radar that On3 ranked in their top 100 include Providence wing Miles Byrd (36), Tennessee wing Jalen Haralson (41), Michigan center Moustapha Thiam (42), Louisville guard Jackson Shelstad (48) and North Carolina guard Neoklis Avdalas (59).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Gonzaga’s Massamba Diop ranked among college basketball’s five most valuable players.
