West Virginia had plans for Seny Ndiaye. But plans change.
Ndiaye attended Huntington Prep and while the Mountaineers were certainly interested the coaches had the idea that he would spend another season at the prep level in Beckley. Then he would come to Morgantown to start his college career after another year of seasoning.
But Huggins called an audible.
“The more I thought about it, the more I thought we’d just redshirt him and he’d get a lot more playing against Derek (Culver) than he will be playing against some 6-foot-3 guy,” Huggins said.
A raw big man, the year in the program would allow Ndiaye to develop at a higher level going against the talented players on the roster on a daily basis. That alone will teach him lessons that he can’t learn outside going through the fires of competition.
So the Mountaineers accelerated the plan and offered him a scholarship to join the program this summer as the 13th and final scholarship player on the roster. Turns out it has been the best decision and he was needed more than originally imagined.
“He’s gotten better and better and better,” Huggins said.
Because this is essentially a free year, Ndiaye was originally intended to sit this season out and develop but injuries and departures have forced him into a much bigger role. He now effectively serves as the third big and has made strides.
"He's done a really good job. He's like a sponge, he's learning. He doesn't shy away from information, he wants to learn," Culver said. "Seny is going to be a key later on in the stretch. He's still a little raw, but how much better he's gotten it's scary. If he keeps progressing on the road he's going he could get significant playing time."
While it wasn't in the plans to count on him significantly this year, there already has been a lot of reasons to be excited about his development as a player in a short period of time. And he has been able to get on the floor after losing two bigs.
“Seny is a very high energy guy. He’s going to play 110-percent evert single play. That’s one thing about Seny, he’s a little raw. He’s young, he’s going to have his ups and downs but he’s a hard worker. He’s always going to try to get better,” Culver said.
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