Virginia Tech picked up a commitment from Kansas State graduate transfer guard Cartier Diarra on Tuesday afternoon. He will be a redshirt senior in 2020-21, and he will be eligible to play immediately.
Diarra (6-4, 185) started 58 out of 97 career games with the Wildcats. As a redshirt junior in 2019-20, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He is a career 42.6% shooter from the field, and a 34.5% shooter from the outside.
Diarra’s familiarity with the Virginia Tech comes from assistant coach Chester Frazier. Frazier previously coached Diarra at Kansas State. He is originally from South Carolina. Diarra is considered a combo guard, and he is also a defensive specialist who is capable of guarding the opposition’s best perimeter player.
According to Corey Evans of Rivals.com, Diarra has left open the possibility of declaring for the NBA Draft depending on what feedback he gets. However, it’s expected that he’ll play one more season of college basketball at Virginia Tech.
Diarra’s commitment came not long after Isaiah Wilkins’ transfer was announced this morning. In a Roanoke Times interview with Mark Berman, Wilkins said that head coach Mike Young called him and suggested that he transfer.
"He kind of told me that the situation wasn't really right for me,” Wilkins told Berman. “He kind of wanted the best for me and said I didn't really fit what he was trying to do. And I respected that because he came to me and didn't sugarcoat anything. So I really respect him for that because he told me that he wanted me to play the next few years somewhere else where it was the best fit for me.”
Click here to read the Roanoke Times article, which include many more quotes from Wilkins about the situation.