Belmont Transfer Malik Dia Hears From Indiana

Malik Dia averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Belmont, but now he's looking for a new school. Indiana is among the list of suitors.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Belmont transfer Malik Dia has heard from a slew of high-major programs since entering the transfer portal.

That list includes UConn, Indiana, USC, Texas, Kansas State, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Virginia, Villanova, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Boston College, Arizona State, Wake Forest, Nevada, Virginia Tech, Cal and Georgia Tech, according to On3's Joe Tipton.

Dia has a versatile game as a 6-foot-9 forward. He's coming off a breakout sophomore season at Belmont, where averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game.

He started 24-of-33 games and shot 48.8% from the field, 34.1% from 3-point range and 63.8% from the free throw line. Dia attempted 3.9 3-pointers per game, while also scoring at an efficient 55.1% on 2-point attempts. That led to All-Missouri Valley Conference third-team honors and a spot on the the MVC All-Newcomer team.

Belmont finished fourth in the MVC standings at 20-13 overall and 12-8 in conference play. Indiana has also been in contact with Dia's Belmont teammates guard Ja'Kobie Gillespie (17.9 ppg) and wing Cade Tyson (16.2 ppg). All three were named to All-MVC teams this season as Belmont's leading scorers.

Dia began his career at Vanderbilt, where he played 8.5 minutes per game in 20 contests as a freshman. He committed to Vanderbilt as a three-star recruit, ranked No. 209 in the nation out of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn.

Indiana currently has seven open scholarships heading into the 2024-25 season, the fourth under coach Mike Woodson. Kel'el Ware declared for the draft on Tuesday, and Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker are out of eligibility. CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks have each entered the transfer portal, with Sparks heading back to Ball State, where he began his career.

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