As a child growing up in Senegal, soccer was Pape Diatta’s game.

But there was just one problem. As much as he loved to play, when he and his friends would choose sides for their daily games, Diatta’s name was always one of the last ones called.

That got him to thinking – perhaps he should give basketball a try.

“I was one of the last ones that was picked,” Diatta said. “Since that was happening all the time, I started to learn to play basketball - then I was one of the first ones to get picked.”

Smart choice.

Diatta’s decision to give basketball a try started him on a journey that otherwise might not have happened, first getting him to the United States and Gainesville, Fla., then to Idaho for junior college ball before matriculating to Georgia where he’s expected to play a significant role this year for the Bulldogs.

“Pape is a versatile small forward. He has the ability to shoot the three, attack the basket off the dribble, rebounds and post up some,” head coach Mark Fox said. “We thought we needed another playmaker and we really think he gives us the flexibility to play a lot of different ways, whether that’s play two small forwards and one big at the same time, two small forwards, two bigs and J.J. (Frazier), it just gives us a lot of flexibility that he can offer us.”

As you might expect, Diatta’s story is an interesting one.

Diatta became so proficient at his new sport, that he ultimately earned a spot on Senegal’s U16 and U18 National Teams in 2008 and 2012, leading his country to its first-ever gold medal at the U18 African Championships.

After coming to the U.S. where he played at The Rock School, a non-denominational Christian high school in Gainesville, Diatta earned a scholarship to the College of Southern Idaho where his career really took off.

At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Diatta is coming off a sophomore season at CSA where he averaged 13 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists en route to earning first team Region 18-honors, and him notice from a number of Division I programs, including Georgia.

The Bulldogs were obviously impressed, so much so that Fox dispatched assistant Jonas Hayes all the way to Diatta’s hometown in Dakar, Senegal to meet the player’s family.

“That showed me what Georgia is all about,” Diatta said. “I had sensed that from Day 1, and when I came here I felt the same.”

Diatta said his family, particularly his mom, appreciated the gesture.

“She appreciated the fact that he went all the way down there to meet her. It was huge,” said Diatta, who moved to the U.S. when he was 15.

“We just felt like it was important for his family to see somebody from our school. Obviously, there’s a language barrier but Jonas has got a spirit about him and I think his mother said she can sense that,” Fox said. “I think it was a real difference, especially since we started recruiting him a little late. But I’m glad we did. Jonas did yeoman’s work there.”

Diatta figures to get plenty of opportunities to make an impression on this year’s Bulldog team.

The junior fancies himself a good passer, someone who likes to get the rest of his teammates involved, a trait he believes he picked up from his early days on the soccer field.

“I would say it comes from the soccer. I used to play mid-fielder,” he said. “There, you get the ball and try to get the other players involved. I’ll try to do the same here. Whatever my team needs me to do.”