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Fresno State’s Assane Diouf, New Mexico’s Carlton Bragg Fighting For Eligibility
Fresno State’s incoming big man may not see the floor until academic issues are resolved
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Diouf is the key piece of Fresno’s incoming class
Fresno State center Assane Diouf and New Mexico forward Carlton Bragg are both fighting to become eligible for the start of the 2018-19 season, according to reports earlier this week.
Diouf, a 7-1 big man from Senegal, is currently dealing with academic eligibility status concerns. The DME Academy product was originally of the class of 2019 but has since reclassified in hopes of being ready to play with the Bulldogs for the entirety of the 2018-19 season. According to Robert Kuwada of the Fresno Bee, Diouf has completed summer coursework in order to potentially obtain complete eligibility.
Diouf, if eligible, figures to be a key piece for Justin Hutson’s group this year. The undersized Bulldogs are in need of depth down low and Diouf is a high-major talent who could provide an immediate spark in the FSU frontcourt.
As for New Mexico’s Carlton Bragg, the former Kansas Jayhawk and Arizona State Sun Devil is currently slated to become eligible in December but is applying for a waiver. The hope for Bragg and head coach Paul Weir is that Bragg will be able to play in the first game of the season in November.
Bragg played two seasons with Kansas before leaving the program in April 2017. The former five-star then linked with Arizona State the following month but left Tempe last December. He announced his commitment to New Mexico in late January.
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Eli Boettger is the lead basketball writer at Mountain West Wire. He’s covered Mountain West basketball since 2015 and his work has been featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and other platforms. Boettger is a current USBWA member.