Western Michigan is on the rise not only in the State of Michigan, but the MAC conference as well. Steve Hawkins and his staff guided the Broncos to a share of the MAC regular season title, and clinched a trip to the NCAA tournament by winning the conference tournament. However, the offseason thus far has provided another win for the Broncos, securing a pledge from 7 foot Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian center, Khadim Dieng.
Dieng, who transferred from the prestigious Oak Hill Academy school in Virginia during his senior summer, was deemed ineligible by the MHSAA for competition in the 2013-2014 high school basketball season. However, Dieng had already made a name for himself to colleges prior to the season. Dieng was a member of the Grand Rapids Storm AAU basketball club, who are one of Michigan’s most respected teams year-to-year. Traveling across the midwest and nation to partake in tournaments nearly every weekend, it was hard for colleges not to discoever ding. Tall, long armed, quality athlete, and a potential to only improve as he becomes more seasoned to playing basketball. Khadim was fortunate enough to receive scholarships from schools like Seattle and UMass-Lowell, to go along with several other MAC and D2 schools. But what made Western different according to Dieng was a sense of family, and commitment from the Bronco coaching staff. Grand Rapids is less than an hour away from Kalamazoo, which will give his host family plenty of opportunities to watch Khadim compete in college.
“I have a good relationship with the coaches, I know they are gonna take care of me, and I like the campus too.”
Despite all the negativity and obstacles Khadim has had to overcome to get to where he is today, Khadim is grateful for Western Michigan in giving him an opportunity to play next year. Dieng even stated that even if he was allowed to play this year, he thinks he would still have decided on the Broncos if they offered him a chance to play for their program.
Khadim relishes the day where he can be seen as just another member of team, having to sit out a year of a sport he loves was hard for him. But now, the pressure is off, and he is now like any other college athlete, ready to prove himself worthy of competing on the division one level.
“I feel good now, I’m ready to do whatever they ask me to do.”
The Prep Ball Report 
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