Northwest Notes May 6, 2026

Gonzaga adds Arizona State transfer center Diop

SPOKANE — Massamba Diop, a transfer from Arizona State, signed a financial aid agreement to attend Gonzaga University and will join the men's basketball team for the 2026-27 season.

Diop (7-foot-1, 230 pounds) averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game as a freshman last season. He made a team-best 56.9 percent from the field, while making eight of his 26 3-pointers. He shot 71.5 percent (103-of-144) from the free-throw line. The native of Rufisque, Senegal, started in all 33 games. His 69 blocked shots were the second-most in the Big 12 Conference, and the third-most by a freshman in the nation.

Prior to Arizona State, Diop spent two seasons in Gran Canaria's youth and reserve teams before being promoted to Spain's top-tier ACB and EuroCup rotations in 2024. He averaged 6.5 points on 63 percent shooting and 3.1 rebounds during his initial action with Dreamland Gran Canaria. He averaged 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 28 minutes per game across 14 contests for Gran Canaria II in 2023-24.

Diop was a part of Real Madrid's development program, competing on their U18 team for the 2022-23 season. He attended Adidas EuroCamp at 18 years old, averaging 8.3 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 4.7 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.

Vandal men add Carney, Williams to 2026-27 hoops roster

MOSCOW — The Idaho men’s basketball team announced the signing of high school players Ryan Carney and Jalen Williams. 

Carney, a 6-foot-4 guard, closed his four-year high school career at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane by earning the Greater Spokane League Defensive Player of the Year award and an All-GSL Second Team nod, as he helped lead the Bullpups to their second straight state 4A title game appearance. 

"It's important to us to keep the best regional players in a Vandal uniform, and that's exactly who Ryan is,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said of Carney. “As a Spokane native, he's got the pedigree. Ryan impacts the game in a lot of ways, but my favorite part of his game is how he competes defensively. He has great length as a guard and can be very disruptive on that end of the court."

Williams spent four years at San Marcos High in California, where he scored north of 2,000 career points and etched his name into the record books as the Knights’ all-time leading scorer. The San Diego-area native posted at least 17 points a game in each of the last three seasons and 12 20-plus point performances during his senior campaign. 

“Jalen is a strong and athletic point guard who has a chance to be really special,” Pribble said. “He had a great prep career ... he also has the size and versatility to be very good defensively. We think Jalen has a very bright future here at Idaho.”

Carney and Williams are UI’s second and third high school additions this spring, alongside Nolan Newman-Gomez, and join Kase Wynott, Diego Trejo-Delgado, Hudson Ward, and TJ Wal as spring signees to the 2026-27 Vandal team.