Cody Williams takes a lot of the headlines and the fanfare surrounding Colorado’s freshman class, but the Buffs have plenty of other talent coming in from the high school ranks for the 2023-24 season.

One of those players is Assane Diop, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound big man who was a four-star recruit out of high school. Diop was born in Senegal, but was recruited locally out of Accelerated Prep in Denver. The new Buffs big man only came over to Colorado from Senegal in 2019, but he is already getting comfortable in the Sunshine State.

“I can say it’s home,” he said.

Diop grew up playing ball with his cousin, fellow college freshman Baye Fall, and the two became known as a powerful duo. Both came over to the States from Senegal together, played prep basketball together, and many assumed they would end up at the same college as a package deal.

Things didn’t exactly work out that way. Diop decided to stay in Colorado and committed to Tad Boyle and the Buffs, but Fall made a different decision. The five-star center ended up committing to Arkansas where he is preparing for his freshman season. This fall will be the first time the two have played apart in nearly three years, but Diop is ready to forge his own path.