Gaston Diedhiou has been denied entrance into the University of Minnesota due to low scores on an English proficiency exam, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. School officials deemed him “unprepared for academic success at Minnesota,” according to sources.

Diedhiou, who is from Senegal, is a 6-7 forward with major college potential. He played high school basketball in the Canary Islands in 2014. Initially he was granted clearance from the NCAA Clearinghouse as a full qualifier, but was not able to meet the entrance requirements set forth by Minnesota.

University Director of Admissions Rachel Hernandez told reporters that the English proficiency test scores of every applicant are reviewed before any are allowed to enroll at the school.

Our assessment is really related to can the student be successful academically and can they be successful in an English-speaking setting,” Hernandez said. “Admissions decisions are never based on just one thing.”

There is no evidence that Diedhiou was singled out for either his ethnicity or his position as a basketball recruit for the school.

While Diedhiou cannot enroll in classes right away, he will be allowed to retake the English exam before second semester begins. If he passes, he could play the second half of the season for the Golden Gophers. In the meantime, he will remain on campus and take English immersion classes as a non-student - and not as part of his pending scholarship, according the Star Tribune.

Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino returns Deandre Mathieu and Andre Hollins from last season’s NIT championship team, but Gophers are thin up front and could have used Diedhiou’s talents in the paint right away.

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