Aliou Diarra

[Hal14]

This guy has come out of nowhere. Although he's 21, according to his Realgm page, this is his first season playing pro ball and he's only played in 9 games.

But in those 9 games he's putting up some monster numbers: 15 PPG, 13 RPG, 2 BPG, 2 SPG, 1 APG. Had a game with 16 pts and 18 rebs. Another game with 20 Pts and 16 rebs. Another game with 22 pts, 10 rebs and 5 steals. Playing in the African pro league.

Article on him:
https://bal.nba.com/news/diarra-makes-strong-case-to-be-sahara-conferences-most-impactful-player

The article says he's 6'9" and 192 lbs so obviously undersized at center. But on the plus side, he's probably the most athletic big man in the draft and from day 1 in the NBA, he could be the fastest big man in the league.

On film, you can just see how freaking quick (and fluid) he moves up and down the floor:

Watch on YouTube

Rim runner, lob threat big man. Rebounds the heck out of the ball (24.5% rebounding rate which is nuts). Can block shots. High motor - plays like his hair is on fire. Good finisher around the rim - can even hit the mid range jumper.

Turns 22 later this year (on December 31) so he's auto eligible for this year's draft.

6'9", 192 lbs is obviously undersized for a big but Isaiah Jackson and Nic Claxton were similar sized as prospects and went 22 and 31 in the draft and Claxton has developed nicely into a good starting center. If Diarra can add 10-15 lbs of muscle over the next couple of years it'll help.

In this vid, look how freaking fast he runs the floor at the 1:00 mark. I don't think there's a center in the NBA right now who can move like that.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Could end up being a steal in the 2nd round or as an UDFA.

[Hal14]

This guy could really rise up boards if he goes to the g league elite camp and/or the combine.

Between the athletic testing (he will probably break records for speed /agility by a big man), measurements (interested to see what his wingspan and standing reach measures but on film his arms look VERY long..) and he could also make a statement with his play in scrimmages..

[tester551]

I would take him with a late 2nd. Possibly much higher depending upon how much intel I could gather on him.

[Hal14]

I would take him with a late 2nd. Possibly much higher depending upon how much intel I could gather on him.

I think he's worth a flier in the 2nd round as well.

Thing is, it seems like auto-eligible players from overseas rarely get drafted.

I got my hopes up last year that the celtics would take Yoan Makoundou, but he went undrafted.

These international players were all auto-eligible last year and none got drafted:
Yoan Makoundou
Ziga Samar
Giordano Bortolani
Sadik Emir Kabaca

It seems like with international players, you gotta get drafted at an earlier age.

Hugo Besson had recently turned 21 (was 58th pick)
Ismael Kamagate was 21.5 on draft night (4th pick)

But both of them had gotten a lot more hype for a solid year leading up to the draft. It's very hard to be an auto-eligible guy and come out of nowhere, with very little hype until right before the draft.

[Hal14]

Good lord.

Yesterday he had 18 pts, 13 rebs, 3 blocks....in only 25 minutes!

[jman3134]

I looked at him briefly. He is way too raw and the BAL level of competition is far from the NBA. He has almost no touch around the basket, though he certainly has a good nose for the ball.

[Hal14]

I looked at him briefly. He is way too raw and the BAL level of competition is far from the NBA. He has almost no touch around the basket, though he certainly has a good nose for the ball.

I mean, I never said that he'd step right onto an NBA floor and be an all-star lol.

He's competing vs grown men in a pro league. the BAL has to at least be comparable to NCAA, where most of the guys play who are about to get drafted, no?

Sure, he's raw but he's only 21 and bigs take longer to develop. He's only played in 10 pro games that I can see on realgm. As he gets more experience, more games under his belt and gets some better coaching here in the states, his development could really get fast tracked.

His touch around the basket might not be the best, but in the film I've seen, he's shown some pretty good touch in the mid range, and even out to the 3 pt line.

[EvanZ]

I had Aliou Diarra the other night after eating some bad tacos.