Gorgui Dieng will not play at Louisville this season

Gorgui Dieng will not play at Louisville this season

by Mike Rutherford on Sep 13, 2010 3:18 PM EDT in Basketball Comment 31 comments

Card Chronicle has learned that freshman big man Gorgui Dieng has not qualified to play this season and is likely headed to a junior college. The hope is that he will return to Louisville at some point in the future, but the intended outcome doesn't often come to fruition in these situations.

Dieng had been on U of L's campus, attending classes and working out with the team since August. Given the fact that his prep grades and test scores were all solid, this has reportedly blindsided everyone. I'm not entirely sure what the issue in question is, but I'm told it has to do with his high school in Africa and not Huntington Prep. I'm also not sure if an appeal is possible here.

Justin Coleman's inability to qualify had left the 6-10 native of Senegal as the most highly-touted member of the freshman class, but it appears the Derby Classic white team MVP will not be suiting up for the Cardinals in 2010-2011.

Obviously, this is an enormous blow to a team that was already going to be paper thin down low, as well as a blow to the future of the program.

I'm sure more details will emerge when the story officially "breaks," but above is all I know at the moment.