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Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle
I don't really know about Diarra's back to the basket game. I just know that he has good touch from what I have seen. There's something there to work with, especially bc he is 6'9" with good length and athleticism. Chad has mentioned his ability to run the floor too. And if I recall, some of the recruiting sites even had him listed as a SF. Sounds like a potential matchup problem for AAC teams to me. After a couple years playing with our guys, I don't really have any reason to believe he won't hold his own at minimum. I won't predict how many PPG we'll get out of him bc I haven't seen anything other than random clips of him shooting and dunking...but I trust that we brought him in for a reason. I mean, we were linked to Carlton Bragg but took a commitment from Diarra instead. That tells me the staff believes in him. I guess we'll see how he develops, but it seems to me that he has the tools to be a starter and contributor here.
I don't disagree about going small with Cumberland, Evans, and Williams as the mix and match 2-4s in small lineups. But I don't think that can be a full-time thing. So say we were to get Harris, or a pretty good PG to replace Broome and Jenifer...We would have that player, Cumberland, Williams, T Moore, Scott, Diarra, Nsoseme, Brooks, plus whoever else we'd bring in over the next 2 years. If we maintain our 1 HR type guy per class, I don't really see Diarra needing to score more than 8-10 PPG anyway. That may be getting too ahead of ourselves. But if he is a matchup problem on offense with his size and range, and a guy who can switch everything and cover a ton of ground of defense, he'll be a net positive player just based on that alone. And that doesn't account for any development he could make in the post over his time here. And Lord knows we have enough big guys for him to battle against everyday in practice in the meantime.
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Okay thanks. That's about how I view him too. Nice touch on long range shots for a big. Athletic and mobile on D...can run the court. At worst a very nice role player and at best he will improve some skills and provide some punch on offense. I agree we brought him here for a reason.
I like what I hear from him on work ethic and his attitude. Along with a guy like Nsoseme we always want players who will work hard at getting better. I still like him and Brooks as "next guys in" when Washington and Clark leave. Although I could still see a scenario where we go with Brooks and 4 guards/wings since we have 3-4 guys in the 6'5" to 6'6" range.
If Diarra can develop a post move or a slashing move he may improve his chances. Heck even a nice face up mid range shot would probably work for him.