Jan. 26, 2005

WACO, Texas - Baylor incoming freshman Mamadou Diene arrived on campus Tuesday night, head men's basketball coach Scott Drew announced Wednesday.

"We are happy to have Mamadou on campus and enrolled in school," Drew said. "It's always nice having a seven-footer in Waco."

Diene is a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Yeumbeul, Senegal.

"Mamadou has several meetings with academic staff and doctors set up over the next few days, in addition to his classwork," Drew said. "He'll be a very busy man in the next few weeks."

"I am very excited to be at Baylor University and I'm also very excited about my great opportunity," Diene said. "The weather is good here and the people are friendly, like I expected. I know I have a lot of work to do but I am excited to get started and get to know my new teammates."

Diene, Drew's first-ever signee at Baylor, was one of the top international prospects when he signed with Baylor in 2003.

"Mamadou deserves an adjustment period to become acclimated to this country and his schoolwork and will not be available for media interviews during his transition," Drew said. "I think the media can appreciate how busy Mamadou will be for the next two weeks and we thank them for their understanding. We anticipate he'll be available to the media after he gets settled into campus life."