Big Ten Roundup (July 25): Matar Diop Commits to Nebraska, More Northwestern Hazing News

2023 power forward Matar Diop from Erie, Pa., committed to Fred Hoiberg and the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Monday, while a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a former Northwestern volleyball player, once again alleging that hazing had occurred within a Northwestern athletics program.

Fred Hoiberg and the Nebraska Cornhuskers made a splash on Sunday, landing the 6-foot-9, 210 pound Matar Diop, a forward in the class of 2023. Diop was an unusually late signing for an incoming class, and he joins three-star Eli Rice as one of Nebraska's two new freshmen for this upcoming season. 

In other news, more details and lawsuits continue to be brought forth in the wake of the Northwestern hazing scandal. On Monday, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a former Northwestern volleyball player who said she was injured during a sprint, and that head coach Shane Davis had enabled a toxic environment within the program.

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Matar Diop Signs Letter of Intent with Nebraska

Dread it. Run from it. Nebrasketball arrives all the same. 

ALLAH DID!!@HuskerHoops pic.twitter.com/ErXWp83oQh

— Matar Diop (@dmatar832) July 23, 2023

In all seriousness, Diop committed to Coach Hoiberg's team on Sunday and signed his letter of intent, as the 6-foot-9 forward is in the class of 2023 and should be on the 'Huskers roster during the 2023-24 season. 

Diop committed this late in the cycle because he still needed to finish a class at his high school, Keystone Athletic Academy, to be academically cleared for recruitment. This is also why Diop is rated as a zero-star prospect despite his impressive stature, 7-foot-3 wingspan and his being named to the non-PIAA All-State Boys Basketball third team in Pennsylvania. 

Diop is a native of Senegal and a product of NBA Academy Africa. He first arrived in the United States in August of 2022, and soon enrolled at Keystone for his lone high school basketball season in the U.S.

Northwestern Volleyball Hazing 

A former Northwestern volleyball player who suited up for the Wildcats from 2019-23 claimed that she was:

1. Injured during a "punishment" run sanctioned by Davis (the team's head coach). 
2. That Davis "enabled a culture of racism, bullying, harassment, hazing and retaliation" on the Northwestern volleyball team. 
3. That in Mar. 2021, a hazing incident on the volleyball team occurred and was confirmed by an investigation Northwestern conducted within the program. However, Inside NU also reported on Monday that the hazing was covered up by the University publicly. Former Northwestern volleyball players told INU that 2021 games against Wisconsin and Indiana were postponed due to the ongoing hazing investigation, and not due to Covid-19 protocols like the University had publicly stated at the time. 

The lawsuit filed by the anonymous volleyball player also listed Northwestern's two most recent school presidents — Morton Schapiro and Michael Schill — as defendants, as well as former athletic director and current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, and current Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg. 

Additionally, current president Michael Schill spoke with the school's student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, on Monday. 

In the interview, Schill said in regard to Gragg that there is, "no conversation ongoing about his employment," and that he is currently supporting Gragg. 

The fallout from the Northwestern hazing scandal only continues to grow, even two weeks removed from the firing of 17-year football coach Pat Fitzgerald. 

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