Prospect Spotlight 2022: Ousmane Dieng

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Ousmane Dieng | Forward | NZ Breakers

One of the highest-upside prospects in the draft thanks to his blend of defense, size, and smooth shot creation, but he’s yet to prove he can score efficiently.

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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 200
Age: 18.9

Shades of: Brandon Ingram, prime Chandler Parsons, Evan Turner

PLUSES

• His best skill is ball handling. Despite his size, he’s able to get where he wants with this dribble using low crossovers and hesitations. He has a quick first step, too. After stringing together a series of moves, he has the control to deliver passes off the dribble or glide into right-handed layups and floaters.
• Similarly, he’s able to generate space for pull-up jumpers. The results have not been great so far, but he looks fluid getting into shots. It’s just a matter of getting them to fall. Extending his range will be key.
• Shows good passing vision. He can spot cutters then throw jump passes over the defense; also, if he draws help on a drive, he can find the open man outside. He could be plugged into a playmaking role if his perimeter shooting develops, but even if it doesn’t his talents could be featured in a role as a screener, cutter, and slasher.
• Projects as a highly versatile defender thanks to his length and quickness. On-ball, he displays the agility to slide with guards and wings. His movement looks effortless. Away from the ball he has the potential to become an effective help defender in the paint if his awareness improves.

MINUSES

• It’s brick city for him as a shooter right now. He shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from 3-point range in the NBL. Though he looks good shooting the ball, he has never been efficient.
• Avoids contact at the rim. He ends up settling for difficult floaters or off-balance shots. In his first 12 games before injuring his wrist this season, he attempted only four free throws. Since he returned on March 5, he’s averaging 2.6 per game. That’s still a low number, but any type of progress is notable evidence that he is being more aggressive as a scorer.
• Though he has good passing vision, his accuracy needs to improve. Too often the ball is off target, so a good look can be wasted because a defender has time to close the gap with the shooter.
• Defensive awareness is an issue, especially off-ball. So many NBA defenses are switching screens these days that often the big man is pulled away from his protection duties near the paint. So that responsibility can fall on wings like Dieng. He has the size to be a nuisance, but too often he doesn’t rotate quickly enough to make a difference.

The Ringer

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There’s an increasing amount of lottery chatter around Dieng as he’s closing his season in the NBL playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 13.3 over his last 12 games. He’s a silky ball handler in a 6-foot-10 frame, but he’s struggled to finish with consistency, so his future is largely rooted in turning that around. If Dieng pans out, he could be the steal of the draft. The Cavs Hawks already have an All-Star point guard plus an excellent frontcourt. Dieng could fit right in between as the scorer with size.

The Ringer

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Ranking the Top 15 Wings in the 2022 NBA Draft

10. Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers, SG/SF, 2003)

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Signature strengths: Positional size, shot-making

Archetype/projected role: Scorer/playmaker

Dieng turned a corner in February to help make the flashes of potential (since 2018) more believable. He's still a project at 6'9", 185 pounds. Teams shouldn't expect a rookie contributor or impact option for a few seasons. Long term, however, the 18-year-old's ball-handling and shot-making (26 threes, 23 games) remain intriguing for a wing with a significant height advantage. He's averaging 13.3 points over his last 12 games in a competitive NBL.

Bleacher Report

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Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers, SG/SF, 18 years old)

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Scouts are trying to decide whether Dieng is just an idea or a legitimate NBA starter in the making. After a rough start in the NBL, he started to get comfortable in February, scoring double-digits in nine of the Breaker's last 12 games. The idea of a 6'10" wing who can handle, shoot and defend the multiple positions is obviously enticing. However, some scouts sound skeptical about his timetable and how raw he seems. They'll hope to have a better feel for Dieng after seeing him work out live, though there is almost no chance he scrimmages.

At the 2019 European Championships, Dieng was listed at 6'7". Some reports suggest he's now 6'10". That number being real could jumpstart scouts' imaginations about an 18-year-old jumbo wing creator and scorer. He's still one of the rawer prospects generating lottery or first-round buzz, but certain teams may be more willing to gamble on his upside if he checks in as a 6'10" ball-handler and shot-maker.

Bleacher Report

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Ousmane Dieng, F, France

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Dieng is a 6’10 wing from France who re-established himself as a first round lock by coming on strong for the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers in the second half of the season. Dieng’s ability to play on the perimeter at his size is what makes him so intriguing. He can handle the ball, run secondary pick-and-roll actions, and started to show his shooting potential late by hitting 13 of his last 32 three-pointers (40.6 percent) in his last seven games to close the season. He also had some impressive flash plays defensively, using his 7’1 wingspan to get into the passing lane for steals and provide supplemental rim protection as a backline defender. Dieng feels somewhat similar to last year’s Grizzlies first rounder Ziaire Williams as a tall, toolsy wing with shooting potential who is probably a few years away from making a consistent impact.

MSN Sports

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The kid was a late first round pick just 4 months ago, now he's likely going in the lottery.
That's due to a really strong finish to his season in Australia. And as an improving face up scorer at 6'10", he could be really special.

I liken him to Brandon Ingram.

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Dynamite prospect with sky high ceiling. Likely ends up somewhere between Brandon Ingram and Nic BaTUM.

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Dieng buzzing, but not everyone on board

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Dieng's rise became a common talking point after a late-season breakout in the NBL. The idea of a 6'9" wing who can handle and shot-make is obviously enticing, and his productive stretch from March to April came at a time when teams were looking/hoping for new talent to emerge. But not every team is buying the hype. Some think he's merely an idea, or that he's too raw and underdeveloped physically to confidently invest in. All it takes is one team to see upside that's worth spending a few years trying to unlock. It wouldn't be a total shock if Dieng went in the late lottery. But he's not a sure thing to land there. He may make more sense for a team that has multiple first-round picks to gamble with.

Bleacher Report