By ADAM ZAGORIA
High-scoring transfer guard David “Diggy” Coit has officially signed with Kansas after leaving Northern Illinois and receiving an extra year of NCAA eligibility.
The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 20.8 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds as a junior at Northern Illinois. He shot 41% from the field and 34% from deep.
“David can shoot; he has range,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “He’s a player who can score the basketball. He averaged 21 points this past year at Northern Illinois. I see him as a guy that gives us a whole different dimension that we may not have had he not signed with us.”
A native of Columbus, N.J, Coit is a two-time All-MAC selection in 2022-23 and 2023-24, earning third-team honors both seasons. Coit was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 14 Second Team each of the last two seasons.
As a sophomore in 2022-23, Coit started 26 of 29 games played at NIU and averaged 15.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He shot 42.9 percent from the field, including 37.7 percent from three-point range where he was 81-of-215 from beyond the arc.
In two seasons at NIU, Coit scored 1,051 points and made 175 threes, which averages out to 3.5 made per game. He also brings 175 career assists, 63 steals and an 87.9 free throw percentage (160-of-182) to Kansas.
Following a prep career at Scotland (Pa.) Campus Sports, Coit attended Atlantic Cape (N.J.) Community College, where he led NJCAA Division III in scoring averaging 30.6 points per game in 2021-22. Coit was named the 2021-22 Garden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year in his lone season at Atlantic Cape.
“Kansas was the best situation for me,” Coit told 247Sports.com. “Coach Self trust in me, and trust in my ability to come in, play make and score. He was honest with me from the start. He recruited me months ago before the summer. He was always transparent about what he was looking for and his coaching staff was the same way. It was a great situation for me.”
He joins transfer guards AJ Storr, Shakeel Moore, Noah Shelby, and Zeke Mayo, and transfer wing Rylan Griffin. Kansas also brought in Class of 2024 wing Rakease Passmore and big man Flory Bidunga. “I fit into the offense, knowing that we have a great big, great wing and really good guards,” Coit told 247. “They want me to stretch the floor, play make, play on and off the ball and just be a combo guard. I’ll be tasked with using my ability to score and shoot, but also play and make it easier for the guys around me. That was the point of emphasis in my recruitment. Playing with other great players is when I play my best. I enjoy scoring, but I also enjoy being unselfish and being able to make plays for others. That’s what I was looking for and that’s what they had to offer me.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookNew entree into the portal David Coit can flat out score the ball averaged 20+Ppg and was the 24th best scorer in Division 1 pic.twitter.com/n0uD44tAyx
— Nathan Marsh (@nmarsh97) April 1, 2024
