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St. John’s got an early commitment in June 2016 from 2018 Boubacar Diakite who attends Our Savior New American in Centereach, NY. Andrew Slater of 247Sports.com was the first to report that Diakite enrolled at St. John’s a year early.
6'9" Boubacar "Bouki" Diakite of @OSNA_BVHOOPS has enrolled early at St.John's. Was originally class of 2018 #SJUBB https://t.co/2R96WErM47 pic.twitter.com/dLyQAyRQz0
— Andrew Slater (@ASlater247) August 28, 2017
Zach Braziller of the NY Post followed that report by tweeting that Diakite will spend the 2017-18 season with the Red Storm as a redshirt as he recovers from “major knee surgery”. The 6’7 wing player is a 4-star prospect and billed as “a talented small forward that is a skilled shooter out to the three point line” by ESPN.com.
Boubacar Diakite is coming off major knee surgery. #sjubb hopes he can practice with team at some point this year. Recovering well, I'm told
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) August 28, 2017
If Diakite’s high school sounds familiar to fans of the Red Storm it’s because that’s a place St. John’s has procured three recent players going back to Steve Lavin’s tenure. Those players are Chris Obekpa, Felix Balamou and Kassoum Yakwe. Diakite has spoken of the tight relationship he has with his fellow countryman, Yakwe.
The wing is a position that seems to have some availability come 2018-19 when Diakite is scheduled to come back from the redshirt. Marvin Clark, Jr. and Sid Wilson will be the only other players on the Red Storm’s current roster that still have available eligibility during that season.
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