WOODSTOCK — Mamadou Diarra was outside the school library Friday morning, making the final phone call of his recruiting process. It was to tell the coaches at Virginia Commonwealth where he would be going in 2016.
Then Diarra walked in, sat down behind the microphone and donned a UConn ball cap, telling the world, “I will be attending the University of Connecticut,” as a smile spread across his face and his prep school teammates applauded.
Diarra, a 6-foot-8 power forward who just graduated from Putnam Science Academy, is the Huskies’ first commitment from the Class of 2016. With Putnam Science closing, he will play as a post-grad at Woodstock Academy next season, close enough for the friends he has made in the northeast corner of the state to see him play.
“I don’t know what he’s told you, but UConn has really been his dream school,” said coach Tom Espinosa, who will move from PSA to start the post-grad basketball program at Woodstock.
Diarra, from Queens, N.Y., became a big-time prospect last summer, on the AAU circuit with the New York Jayhawks. As he got back to Putnam in the fall, offers from major programs began to come in. Minnesota, Dayton, Seton Hall and St. John’s were among the schools that showed interest, Espinosa said.
UConn had become very interested in one of Diarra’s teammates, guard Hamidou Diallo, but associate head coach Glen Miller, who works with the program’s big men, spotted Diarra and had coach Kevin Ollie take a look. When Diarra went to the Huskies’ game against Memphis on March 5, he was struck by Ollie’s handling of players. When he returned for a visit in April, and played with some of the current players, Ollie saw enough and made him an offer he would not refuse.
“I feel like when [Ollie] tells you something, he means it,” Diarra said. “He loves all his players. I believe that. … You see so many players transferring now; I don’t want to be one of them.”
Diarra narrowed his choice to UConn and VCU, but decided more than a week ago that it would be UConn. It was just a matter of how to announce it. His family got the news when they came up for graduation.
“Mamadou is a great teammate,” said Diallo, who also grew up in Queens. “I’ve known him since we were young, and I’m just glad he made the right decision.”
Diallo, a 6-5 shooting guard, will also move to Woodstock Academy next season, for 12th grade. He has reclassified to the Class of 2017, planning to play a post-grad year, but he also has the option of starting college in 2016. He offered no clues about his preferences.
“I’m going to wait it out,” Diallo said, “and whatever is the best school for me, that’s where I’m going to go.”
The Huskies have a strong mix of high school recruits and fifth-year transfers coming to bolster the roster next season, with Jalen Adams from Brewster Academy, Steven Enoch from St. Thomas More, and transfers Shonn Miller from Cornell and Sterling Gibbs from Seton Hall.
But with Miller and Gibbs only there for one year, and Phil Nolan and Omar Calhoun going into their senior seasons, the Huskies will have numerous scholarships to offer for 2016.
As Diarra was making his final decision, the Huskies coaches were working on other things. They have been courting Terry Larrier, who is transferring from VCU after his freshman season. Larrier, a 6-foot-8 wing from the Bronx, chose VCU over UConn two years ago, but he has been in Storrs visiting this week and, according to CBSSports.com., will choose between UConn and Maryland. Larrier averaged 6.6 points and 3.0 rebounds for Virginia Commonwealth as a freshman. If he goes to UConn, he would take one of the two remaining scholarships for 2015, but have to sit out the year before becoming eligible.
For the Huskies, it could be a repeat of what happened with Rodney Purvis, who chose N.C. State over UConn in 2011, but ended up transferring after his freshman year. UConn is comfortable taking undergraduate transfers, with a year to work them into the system before they can play.
Diallo, Diarra, Adams and Enoch are all scheduled to appear in the Mary Kline Classic games on May 30 in West Orange, N.J. Diallo and Diarra will play in the underclassmen event, with Adams and Enoch in the senior game. The event raises money and awareness for cancer research.
