Arizona State star freshman Massamba Diop enters transfer portal

The transfer portal officially opened on Tuesday, and one day later, Arizona State lost its best player. Freshman big man Massamba Diop announced on Wednesday he's entering the transfer portal, delivering the first big blow of the Randy Bennett era.

Diop entered the portal with a "Do Not Contact" tag, which typically indicates that he already has a select list of schools he's choosing between. That designation also typically means there's no chance that Arizona State could convince him to stay.

A late addition to Bobby Hurley's roster this past year, the Senegalese big man quickly became a human highlight reel for the Sun Devils. He finished the year with 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and a whopping 2.1 blocks per game. He also developed an outside game too, hitting 35.7% beyond the arc in his final eight games.

Diop was easily the top target to be retained by Randy Bennett and his new staff, but also the hardest one given his natural ability. Blue blood programs with deeper pockets and more prestige will be able to offer Diop things that Arizona State simply can't.

In the days leading up to the opening of the transfer portal, hope seemed to build that Diop may stay put. He had spent most of his time (at least, according to Instagram) in the Sun Devils' practice facility and posting about it. Between that and the fact that Bennett shares the same agency as Diop, there seemed to be at least an outside chance of keeping him.

All that evaporated quickly with Diop's announcement. He now marks the sixth player to transfer out of Arizona State this season, and he leaves a large hole - both literally and figuratively - in this roster for Bennett to try and fill.