Pape Diatta (pronounced Pop Dee-ah-tuh), a 6-7, 210-pound forward from the College of Southern Idaho, has signed a letter-of-intent to continue his basketball career with the Georgia Bulldogs, head coach Mark Fox announced on Wednesday.
 
 
“Pape has great versatility, and he’s going to provide the opportunity for our team to play a number of ways,” Fox said. “He can shoot the three. He can put the ball on the deck. He can get to the rim. We’re excited about his abilities and his readiness to step in and play right away.”
 
 
Diatta, who was a first-team junior college Region 18 selection during the 2015-16 season, will join the Bulldogs this fall with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
 
 
A native of Dakar, Senegal, Diatta averaged 13.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while helping Southern Idaho’s Golden Eagles to a 22-9 finish as a sophomore. Among the Scenic West Athletic Conference statistical leaders, Diatta ranked No. 12 in scoring, No. 2 in rebounding, No. 8 in blocks, No. 9, in field goal percentage, No. 12 in free throw percentage, No. 12 steals and No. 14 in assists. He upped his scoring average in conference play to 13.5 ppg.
 
 
As a freshman, Diatta started 29 of 34 games and averaged 7.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg for Southern Idaho, which finished 31-3 on the season and advanced to the Round of 16 of the NJCAA Championship.
 
 
Diatta moved to the United States as a high school freshman and attended The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida, where he won a Sunshine Independent Athletic Association (SIAA) state title as a junior. As a senior, Diatta averaged 11.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.4 spg for the Lions, who finished 24-13 and reached the SIAA semifinals.
 
 
Georgia finished the 2015-16 season with a 20-14 overall record and a 10-8 mark in SEC play. The Bulldogs notched a third-straight 20-win campaign for just the second time in 111 seasons of basketball and posted a third-consecutive double-digit win tally in SEC action for the first time since the league was formed in 1932. Georgia and Kentucky are the only two SEC programs to record 20 wins each of the last three seasons. Over the past three years, the Bulldogs and Wildcats also are the only two league programs to post double-digit SEC win tallies and reach the semifinals of the 2014, 2015 and 2016 SEC Tournaments.
 
 

Pape Diatta’s Highlights
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