August 14, 2025
Head coach Rich Glesmann of Macalester College has just recruited Mamadou Diallo as their new full-time assistant coach. It is not some big flashy signing that causes ESPN to jabber, but to be honest? It may be what is so much wanted here amongst the Scots.
Diallo transfers in, having spent some time with serious Division III experience, Cornell College in Iowa. Also, I know what you could be thinking right now, about what I just said, oh, some random coaching appointment just to boost alumni donations, but hear me out–this guy has the sort of background that can actually work in a place like Macalester.
The hire.
Diallo is not some rookie who just discovered what a basketball looks like, look. This bloke has a few miles on the odometer – the latest being at Cornell College where he was a grind as an assistant coach, dealing with kids who are attempting to properly balance good academics with competitive basketball. Sound familiar? That is pretty much the Macalester thing.
Interestingly, it is his education, as the guy has a bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies, including his studies in sport psychology and public relations at West Virginia University. Add to this the fact that he played himself – two years of NAIA basketball at York College and Simpson University before finishing at WVU.
Not only is that coaching theory, it is lived experience. He has experienced the balancing of books and basketball.
Why This is In fact a Good Idea (I Swear)
OK, so it is not one of those fancy Power Five poaching scenarios. At a college like Macalester–where they put most of their student-athletes into grad school, policy work, medicine, or teaching–it is, in fact, brilliant.
This is why this hires got legs:
The Academic Fit: Diallo fits in educationally: her background makes total sense at Macalester. Hell, these are not just kids who come here to hoop; they are doctors, lawyers, and world changers who, other than that, are pretty good at basketball.
Real Life Experiences: His experience through various gradations implies that he has not been trapped in a particular mode of thinking. He has some idea of how to construct something relevant without huge budgets or five-star standbys.
Recruiting Gold Mine: His links to the NAIA and NCAA ranks may simply unmine some diamonds in the rough (kids who flourish in a setting such as Macalester but might fall through the cracks of larger programs).
What People Are Really Said
There has been quite a buzz on social media:
Really excited at what Mamadou Diallo will add to the Scots. It is a step that indicates that there is a future years ahead and not a season.
That in itself? And that is the momentum you would like to have on a hire such as this. Not about instant solutions – it is about establishing basics.
The Greater Good
Mac men basketball is not aiming to be Duke or Kentucky, and that is okay. The Scots are all things wonderful with a sweet spot of academic excellence and athletic competitiveness. The minds compete in colleges, playing games in which not only athleticism is a necessity.
This is not a score-based game but of victories and defeats (although Sweee). It is all about relationships: coach to player, team to campus, program to community. The fact that they bring in guys like Diallo, who basically understand the student-athlete balance concept, is a big plus to what they are trying to make.
My Take It As It Is: This Might Be a Genius
I am not lying to you, man, this is not the type of hire that makes the news or people tweeting about it. However, there are situations when it is better not to make any noise.
Macalester did not create another coach on the staff. They brought in somebody who knows and understands that not all victories are in the box score. It could also be watching a child develop into a leader, seeing the kid pass his or her MCAT ride, watching the kid graduate, and going out to change the world.
What it actually mean to test? The effect Diallo has on the recruiting and development of players within the next couple of years. But if you factor in his provenance, I would wager some wonga here, this will herald the beginning of some low-key spectacular years ahead.
These are the types of hires that reap dividends in the future – when the children are deciding to go to Macalester, not because of the education, or because of the basketball, but because they know that the coaching staff is interested in the entirety of their experience. Need me to come down on other coaching moves in college with equal vigor? Or perhaps see how the new kid in town might fit into Macsequins’ season? Cry out loud- I never mind going into more detail about the stories that should be looked into more.
