Ole Miss continues weekend portal momentum, adds Belmont power forward Malik Dia
Belmont power forward Malik Dia joined Ole Miss commit Mikeal Brown-Jones in Oxford this weekend. And head coach Chris Beard was not going to let the Ensworth (Tenn.) prospect leave without announcing his commitment as well. The former Bruin made sure the Rebels got its wish by announcing he was the second portal commit for Beard.
Dia averaged 16.9 points per game for the Bruins in 2023-2024. He scored in double figures 30(!) times for Belmont, including 12 times of 20 points or more. The 6-foot-9 sophomore originally began his career at Vanderbilt.
He was a three-star recruit out of high school, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the No. 200 overall recruit and No. 5 player out of his home state of Tennessee.
Malik Dia had one of his best games of the year against an NCAA Tournament team.
The former Ensworth School (Tenn.) recruit scored 32 points during a 22-point win over Drake January 7. He made a season-high five three-pointers and shot 10-for-16 from the field. Dia averaged 22.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as a high school senior, earning Tennessee First Team All-State honors.
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Ole Miss now has two established front court transfers.
Dia is a physical stretch four who can run the floor and handle smaller guards and wings on switches. Brown-Jones is another well-rounded athlete who can guard multiple positions on the floor. If Moussa Cisse decides to return, it significantly takes the pressure off all three to do a lot offensively. It can be a platoon effort, similar to Beard’s 2018-2019 team at Texas Tech.
Before arriving at Belmont, he played across town at Vanderbilt. There he played in 20 games as a freshman. At Ensworth, Dia averaged 22.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game en route to a Division II-AA First Team All-State selection.
