Ok, I've been going down a rabbit hole last couple of days watching Aliou Diarra film.
First off, he might be a little bit of a reach at the 33 or 35 spot. But there's something about him. I just got a feeling that he's got a chance to be REALLY good.
Reasons why he might be a reach (and might be a guy we just try and target as an UDFA) is:
-Undersized center at 6'9", 192 lbs
-Old for a draft prospect (21...turns 22 in December)
-Doesn't shoot 3's
Closest comps for Diarra are Isaiah Jackson and Nic Claxton. Diarra has lots of similarities (size, skill set, strengths, weaknesses) to Jackson and Claxton. But Jackson was 2 yrs younger when he was drafted and Claxton was 1 year younger. As a result, Jackson was picked 22nd and Claxton was picked 31st. It also helped Jackson and Claxton that they played in the SEC (Jackson at Kentucky, Claxton at Georgia) so that helped them get more exposure and scouts have a better understanding of what the level of competition is in the SEC.
But Diarra is older than them and is under the radar, playing in the Africa pro league. So he might be a long shot to get drafted. And if he does get drafted, it'll probably be mid to late 2nd round. So again, might be a reach for us at 33 or 35.
But I'm telling you, there's just something about this guy. He's probably the fastest, most athletic big man in the draft.
Averaging 18 PPG, 13 RPG, 2 BPG, 2 SPG in a pro league against grown men at age 21.
Here's his highlights. He's number 15:
Now, let's look at some actual game film.
:51 has the ball out on the perimeter. Closely guarded by opposing big. Takes him off the dribble, attacks the basket. Takes it strong to the rim, strong finish over the defender's contest. Shows quickness and ability to handle the ball
1:03 out on an island defensively, defending a wing. Decent defense, forces him baseline. Just a really good move and finish by the offensive player - just tip your hat to him
1:11 roll man, finds the open spot in the defense, in dunker's spot. Strong, powerful, athletic finish with the dunk
1:20 out on the perimeter, beyond the 3 pt line. But does nice job moving without the ball, cuts in towards the basket. Catches it in the lane. Really nice up-fake to get the defender in the air, which gives himself an easy layup
1:42 runs the floor very well (fast and fluid), strong, powerful, athletic with the put-back dunk
2:20 scores here on 2 defenders. So active, so quick for a big man, has some skill and polish, not that raw
3:15 the offensive player hits a TOUGH shot here, but it was a very good contest by Diarra. He switched out onto the perimeter and closed out really well, getting as close as humanly possibly on the contest, without fouling
3:53 shows good hustle and quickness to get the loose ball. Then turns and hits the jumper from the FT line
2:41 wow. Finds open spot in the defense, catches it, makes the shot, through a ton of contact, and-1
2:51 look how fast and how fluid he runs up the floor
3:01 soft touch on the shot inside. And no wasted motion. Just catches it and immediately shoots it - was already getting himself squared up and ready to shoot before catching the pass
3:53 the length and the tenacity here, gets the deflection which results in a steal for his team
4:33 calls for the ball in the mid post area, around the FT line, even though his man is draped all over him. Catches the pass, 1 dribble, takes it strong to the rim, strong finish through contact for the and-1
6:36 rolls to the rim, after the guard throws the lob pass up there, Diarra jumps up in the air, while in mid-air turns his body towards the hoop, catches the ball and throws it down - all in 1 fluid motion.
7:28 another crazy lob dunk. Hell of an athlete!
7:50 another lob finish, this guy is a machine
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:23 oh man, you just knew when the ball went up there, that Diarra was gonna go get it and make the put-back. He's so quick, so tenacious on the boards. Such a good finisher around the basket.
:35 catches it in the mid range area. Looks around, surveys the floor. Doesn't see an open teammate in a scoring position so hits the mid range J.
3:41 nice switchability here. Defends out on the perimeter, stays with the driver, contests the shot closely (without fouling) and forces him to miss the shot badly
3:56 draws 2 defenders in the post - kicks it to the open shooter, who hits the 3
4:08 again, you just knew when the shot went up that Diarra was gonna go and get the rebound. He uses those long arms to snag it, takes 1 dribble, turns and hits the mid range baby hook shot
4:17 look at how freaking quick Diarra moves as he runs up the floor here. Good lord. And he doesn't even look like he's trying to run his fastest. Like this is only 3/4 speed for him, cause he knows his teammate has a wide open layup
4:27 nice tip-out with those long arms - leads to a 3 for his teammate
4:37 man, this guy is a freak. Runs the floor like a deer, throws down the lob dunk, crazy athleticism and length
5:05 Look at how damn quick and nimble he is going after this rebound. And also the way he reads where the ball is going to come off the rim to know where he should go for the rebound. Then, the monster finish at the rim, through contact.
5:21 again, look at the way he runs the floor. So quick and so fluid with the way he runs. Beats everyone down the floor, catches it and lays it in for the easy transition bucket
5:46 my lord. This guy is a freak. Anytime a teammate misses a shot, this dude always seems to get the put-back. So active, such a high motor, he's always going hard, always making plays.
6:54 another strong, powerful, athletic lob finish for Diarra
7:40 nice job here. He gets the ball but isn't in scoring position, doesn't have a good angle to the hoop so he scans the floor and quickly moves the ball to the open man, resulting in an open 3 for a teammate
8:08 another lob finish. Not an easy finish at all, as the defender jumps up to contest it and very nearly blocks the shot
:37 good athleticism and tenacity on the put-back dunk
4:23 over-helps here and leaves his man open for the 3
4:36 slips the screen, rolls to the rim, catch and finish at the rim. Smooth
4:44 his long arms and good leaping ability, along with good timing, help to get the rebound over everyone else
4:47 again, runs the floor so fast - beats everyone else down the floor, results in an easy dunk
4:56 shot goes up, guess who's gonna get the rebound? Diarra, of course! Again, we see how good he is at reading the ball coming off the rim to know where it's gonna go - he hustles to the spot and uses those long arms to grab the rebound. Then, with no wasted motion, takes 1 dribble along the baseline and lays it in on the other side of the hoop. This guy is GOOD
5:18 again, he over-helps here and leaves his man too much space to shoot the 3. That seems to be something he needs to work on a little bit
5:48 nice job here hitting the open man. Then his teammate shoots it. Guess who gets the rebound? Diarra! Again, nice job reading the ball off the rim to go to where the ball is headed - uses those long arms to grab the board. Then no wasted motion - just goes right up with the put-back shot, using nice touch on the shot to get it in
6:10 my god, this guy is a freak. They say the hardest shot to rebound is an airball - you can't read it off the rim cause it doesn't hit the rim. But guess who reads where this ball is going perfectly and comes up with the rebound? Diarra! Goes after this board, 1 dribble, up-fake and slams home the put-back dunk like an animal.
6:19 nice defense here out on the perimeter. The offensive player makes a really shifty move to the basket but Diarra defends it well, and forces the missed shot
7:41 hesitates here with the pump fake, but you like that he is still able to know down the jumper from the FT line
The guys in the league he's playing in aren't very big/strong and the league doesn't appear to be that physical. With Diarra being so skinny, he might struggle with the size/physicality of the NBA a little bit. But I think once he adjusts to the NBA game and can hopefully get a little bigger/stronger with more time in the weight room, he should be alright.
We see a few plays in these vids where he finishes strong through contact, so I think he'll handle physicality well - especially if he can bulk up a little bit more.
Look, all I'm saying is he might be the fastest big man in the NBA. And he's a monster on the boards - and rebounding has been an issue for us at times this season.
How good of a rebounder is he? He had a 24.5% rebounding % which is insane. And a 6.3% blocks % which is crazy high for an international player. His PER, offensive rating and defensive ratings are also extremely good.
