Published May 3, 2021
Ibrahima Diallo enters transfer portal
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Griffin Strom  •  DottingTheEyes
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After two seasons with the Buckeyes, Ibrahima Diallo has entered the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-10 center and native of Senegal appeared in just 13 games in his first two seasons of college basketball after joining Chris Holtmann's Ohio State program as a three-star prospect in the class of 2019.

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Diallo played in eight games as a true freshman in 2019-20, averaging 5.0 minutes and 1.3 points per game, but despite Ohio State's lack of size this past season, Diallo's playing time did not increase.

After sustaining a concussion and an MCL issue early in his sophomore year, Diallo finished the 2020-21 season having played in just five games, with his last appearance coming against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal. Diallo played in just one minute of that contest.

In recent weeks, senior forward Kyle Young has opted to return to the Ohio State program for a sixth season, and the Buckeyes pulled Indiana transfer and 6-foot-11 center Joey Brunk out of the portal.

With the development of rising sophomore forward Zed Key and the potential for first-team All-Big Ten forward E.J. Liddell to return to the team, an Ohio State frontcourt that seemed somewhat thin by the end of the season suddenly appears to have quite a bit of depth, even after the news that Diallo has entered the portal on Monday.

Diallo is not the first member of Holtmann's 2019 recruiting class to part ways with the program. Following the 2019-20 season, former No. 33 overall prospect D.J. Carton transferred out of Ohio State, as did former four-star forward Alonzo Gaffney.

Diallo's departure creates an additional scholarship spot for the Buckeyes, who were previously full assuming Liddell and Duane Washington return to the program after declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft.