Picking up their second official signing for the 2022-23 season, Washington State head men's basketball coach Kyle Smith has announced the addition of AZ Compass Prep center Adrame Diongue (Dakar, Senegal).
No. 43 in ESPN's Top-100 and a 4-star recruit, Diongue will put on the Crimson and Gray as Smith's top recruit in four years on the Palouse. The Cougs beat out the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, UNLV, and Texas Tech for the young big man who becomes the second highest recruit in program history as rated by 247Sports and the highest rated among the ESPN100 for the Cougs.
"We are thrilled that Adrame has chosen Washington State," said Smith. "He is an excellent talent who fits our brand of basketball and our culture. As talented as he is as a basketball player, he is even more impressive as young man. He is a gracious and humble. His energy and personality light up any room."
A long, athletic, rim-running center out of Senegal by way of Arizona, Diongue has shown raw talent for the game despite having played competitively for just the past three years. Despite the late start after growing up playing soccer in his home country, Diongue quickly established himself as a rising talent at AZ Compass Prep. With Diongue patrolling the paint, the Dragons proved themselves as the top ranked team in Arizona going 24-5 in 2021-22 enroute to their second-straight trip to the GEICO Nationals in Florida.
Playing against the best talent at the GEICO Nationals, Diongue showed himself as a true rim-protector on the defensive end as he blocked nine shots in three games in his two appearances at the elite tournament. While playing alongside some of the top prospects in the country Diongue used his size and athleticism to lead the way on the glass as well, showing off the raw skills that he has begun to hone to become an elite center at the next level. As a senior, Diongue averaged just over 11 points and 6 rebounds per game while blocking nearly 1.5 shots per contest.
Diongue is the second true seven-footer to sign with the Cougs under Smith with the last being Volodymyr Markovetskyy who spent his first two seasons at WSU before transferring to USF. He becomes just the 11th seven-footer to come to the Palouse.
"AD is an elite athlete who protects the rim and runs the floor," Smith continued. "He is emerging as an excellent offensive player under the tutelage of Ed Gibson at AZ Compass Prep which has rapidly become one of the best prep programs in the country. Their educational goals and values, plus style of basketball align with our vision at Washington State. AD is eager to represent himself, AZ Compass Prep, and our program as he continues his growth as both a player and an individual at Washington State."
