Matar Diop Season 2023-24

Honors and Awards

• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2024)

2023-24 (Freshman)
Matar Diop (pronounced MA-TAR CHOPE like hope) was one of NU’s primary frontcourt reserves as a true freshman • High-motor player who has made significant strides during his time on the scout team while appearing in 19 contests in 2023-14 • Averaged 0.8 points and 0.9 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the field • Grabbed a rebound in two minutes against Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament • Came off the bench against Illinois in the Big Ten semifinals and had two points and a rebound in nearly six minutes of action • Totaled two points and three rebounds in the Big Ten Tournament win over Indiana • Hit his only 3-pointer of the season against Michigan on Feb. 10 • Grabbed a season-high four rebounds and had two steals in 20 minutes against South Carolina State on Dec. 29 • Tallied two points, two rebounds and an assist in two minutes of action in the win over Oregon State • Finished with three points, a rebound and a blocked shot in six minutes in the opener against Lindenwood.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
Diop spent the 2022-23 season at Keystone (Pa.) Athletic Academy for Coach Shannon Pullium. Diop averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per game, posting 11 double-doubles on the season in helping the school to a 22-11 mark while playing a national schedule.  For his efforts, he was named third-team all-state on the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State team. Diop spent just one year in the United States, as he played at the NBA Academy Africa directed by Roland Houston for two years. Earlier in 2023, he was selected to play in the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, which featured the top prospects who had played at the NBA Academies around the world.  NBA Academy Africa is an elite basketball training center in Senegal for the top male and female prospects from throughout Africa and the first of its kind on the continent. He played for the Capetown Tigers in the Basketball Africa League in 2022, as part of the Basketball Africa League Elevate program which placed 12 NBA Academy Africa players with BAL teams. He saw limited duty with Capetown but had one game with six points and four rebounds in eight minutes off the bench. Diop also played AAU basketball with Wildcat Select, selected Nebraska after receiving offers from Ole Miss, Arizona State, Seton Hall and Washington State

PERSONAL
The son of Cheikh Omar Diop and Ramata Sarr, Matar was born on January 15, 2004 in Guediawaye, Senegal. He has three brothers (Abdou Paye, Amadou, and Elhadj). Matar is a management major at Nebraska and is the first Husker basketball player from Senegal.