The Louisville coaching staff can see the potential in freshman Gorgui Dieng.
Coach Rick Pitino looks at the 6-foot-10 center's massive wingspan, soft hands and smooth 15-foot jumper and sees a player whom Pitino says can be as good as any big man he's ever coached.
Yet the coaches also see a remarkably polite, easy-going 18-year-old from Senegal who always seems to be smiling and wonder how badly he wants to improve.
''The only question mark is how hungry is he? Is he willing to pay the price?'' Pitino said. ''We don't know that yet.''
The signs, however, are encouraging.
Sure, Dieng's 13-point, 12-rebound effort in a win over Connecticut Friday served as breakthrough for a player who missed three weeks after suffering a concussion in a nasty spill against West Virginia on Jan. 26.
Yet it's what happened when Dieng wasn't playing that served notice he's ready to take his basketball career seriously.
The training staff advised Dieng to relax when the team left him behind on a trip to Notre Dame on Feb. 9. No bright lights. No loud sounds. No stressful situations.
Dieng broke the rules. He watched the game and broke out into a sweat as the Cardinals fell in overtime.
''It seemed like I was playing,'' Dieng said. ''After that when the game is over, it felt like I had a bad headache and I have to do something about it.''
Forced back into action when starter Terrence Jennings picked up two early fouls against the Huskies, Dieng responded with his finest play of the season.
Giving away 30-40 pounds to UConn's frontcourt tandem of Charles Okwandu and Alex Oriakhi, Dieng used his long arms to tap away rebounds and alter shots. When they tried to push him out of the post on offense, he showcased some finesse on a turnaround baseline jumper.
Dieng played so well Pitino stuck with him in the second half and kept Jennings on the bench.
Asked if he was surprised by his play, Dieng just shakes his head and flashes a big smile.
''I'm not cocky, but I'm always confident,'' Dieng said. ''I never put myself down.''
At the moment, there's no need. Dieng's play gives the 16th-ranked Cardinals (20-7, 9-5 Big East) something they haven't had much of this season: Options.
Injuries to Dieng, power forward Rakeem Buckles and swingman Mike Marra among others has left Pitino hamstrung at times. Louisville has gotten by thanks to streaky 3-point shooting that's helped hide some of the holes created by a small lineup that featured 6-4 Kyle Kuric at power forward.
Marra, Buckles and Dieng are all finally healthy, allowing Pitino to tinker with certain combinations and letting them ''go big'' when they want.
Consider the Cardinals beat Connecticut handily despite hitting just five 3-pointers, four below their season average. They did it by going inside regularly to Jennings, Dieng and Buckles, something they've been unable to do for long stretches this year.
''I think we have more weapons now to change certain things,'' Pitino said. ''If we want to make changes, we can depending on if we're pressing or coming from behind.''
Jennings, Marra and Buckles, however, were all expected to be contributors this season. Dieng was not.
He missed the opening week of practice in October after the NCAA ruled him ineligible, citing transcript issues that arose from his high school back in Senegal.
Dieng was reinstated on appeal, and while Pitino had ample praise for Dieng's instincts he didn't think Dieng had the size or the requisite basketball IQ to contribute right away.
Wrong.
Dieng has bulked up to 220 pounds over the last few months, though Pitino says he's still like Dieng to pack on an additional 30-35 pounds to deal with the pounding that comes with playing in the lane in the rugged Big East.
And while Dieng speaks five languages, he's still picking up on basketball vernacular. His teammates still have to point at a spot on the floor when a play is called, often using the Cardinal bird logo on the KFC Yum! Center floor to help Dieng get his bearings.
It hasn't stopped him, however, from becoming a legitimate threat on both ends of the floor. He's averaging 6.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in about 16 minutes a game and his 2.3 blocks a night rank him in the top 30 in the country.
What's more, he's fresh. He's missed a quarter of the season and played sparingly at times. With March looming, Dieng's confidence is soaring.
''I'm not tired,'' he said. ''We're supposed to have fun when we play basketball.''
