Introducing Mahamadou Diop, San Gabriel Academy’s African star — and CIF State champion

Diop is a 6-foot-11 sophomore with a 7-foot-3 wingspan from Mali in West Africa.

Mahamadou Diop finishes a two-handed dunk during the California (CIF) State Division 3 championship game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. / Photo by Dennis Lee

SACRAMENTO — In every facet, Mahamadou Diop stands out.

A quick look at the San Gabriel Academy roster and his 6-foot-11 listing jumps off the page. It’s followed by a double-take when you see he’s only a sophomore in high school.

It gets better — he has a 7-foot-3 wingspan, is just 17 years old, and is from Mali in West Africa.

“I’m here for school and basketball,” Diop said in the postgame press conference.

”He’s only been playing basketball for three years,” coach Daniel Piepoli added.

It didn’t look like it on Friday afternoon when Diop anchored San Gabriel Academy to a CIF State Division 3 championship with a 52-51 victory over King’s Academy at the Golden 1 Center. It was the program’s first-ever state title.

“This is beyond our wildest dreams,” Piepoli said.

Diop tallied 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks in the regional final on Tuesday before turning in another stat-stuffing performance with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks on an NBA floor in the season finale.

He had four monster dunks in the game.

Diop has been on the radar of local pundits, regional scouts and college coaches, but with the way he’s been playing in the last week — and now crowned a CIF State champion — the stock for Diop will undoubtedly rise to another hemisphere.

“My dream is to play in the NBA,” Diop said, who preambled the press conference by telling reporters his English wasn’t very good.

It’s too early to tell how possible Diop’s dream is, but after learning which college programs are inquiring for his services, he could be well on his way.

“He currently holds offers to Texas Tech and UC Riverside, but Arizona, Stanford, Creighton and Mississippi State are calling,” Piepoli said of Diop’s early recruitment.

Mahamadou Diop soars in for a two-handed dunk during the California (CIF) State Division 3 championship game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. / Photo by Dennis Lee

Most high school basketball players that super tall at a young age take time to develop. Most cases see athletes Diop’s size and age struggle early because of the speed of the game. Not Diop, his ability to process and react in real time is already there. He can catch, rotate on defense, and block shots without fouling.

“He’s extremely talented and arguable the most talented to ever come through SGA, and we have some guys playing professionally,” Piepoli said. “He’s a tremendous player and I can see him being an NBA All-Star one day.”

When asked what Diop’s favorite part of basketball is, his answer endeared everyone in the press conference.

”I love to help my team win,” Diop said. “I like to rebound and win — that’s it.”

He added: “I like blocking shots more than dunking.”

Diop was the only SGA player to score in double figures. Senior point guard Coco Britt had eight points. King’s Academy star freshman had nine points on 2 of 8 shooting.

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