Class of 2017 C/PF Moustapha Diagne (NJ) to Western Kentucky

[iommi]

Update: Diagne finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds.

 

[CaliCuse]

Update: Diagne finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds.

Sounds like a step up from DC's numbers

 

[tee1222]

On the plus side with regards to Diagne...nj.com box is incomplete, doesn't show all stats for this game, but check out the box score from their first game...opponent, you ask? High Point, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/game/score/1877283/
16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 three pointer.

High Point Junior should feel bad.

 

[AWMKY]

Full game of Diagne's Pope John XXIII vs. St. Anthony (haven't had a chance to watch, hour long, and on the road):

 

[tee1222]

The mini Moose, showing New Jersey how it's done.
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/game/score/1862800/

20 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists? Wow, that's fun for a big man. Also to note is that this box score didn't show blocks. Again, if there's a replay, this will be a good one to scout.

He's a bad, bad man.

 

[Francis03]

Watched both of the full games posted recently of Diagne and Silva. I'll break down my thoughts on both in this post.

Diagne-Real tough to get a good read on him in this one, as he was just basically a body out there while his team got abused by HS Coaching Kingpin Bob Hurley Sr. When I saw Diagne last season he impressed me with how active he was on both ends of the floor and the way that he knew how to post up and carve out space down low in the post for somebody that's new to the game. While I'm happy to say that he still knows how to operate down low, his effort overall such as the motor was quite lacking. Was disappointed to see that he was basically the last man going up and down the court pretty much just coasting along. I guess since his team was getting blown out possibly the passion was just not there for whatever reason in this game. Despite being the biggest player on the court he didn't dominate the glass or block/alter many shots in the middle. On the positive, his post skills are probably the best out of all the bigs we're currently recruiting. He faced a double team every time he got the ball down low and specifically in the 2nd half he did a great job making quick decisions hitting the open man for threes. With Shooters like BJ, Lydon, and Malachi The Gifted One all expected to be around down the line that asset of his game will be very useful. Overall it's one game so I don't want anyone to think that Diagne stinks now or we shouldn't go after him anymore because he's still a good prospect with plenty of potential, but obvious work and patience will be needed for him to reach his full upside.

Silva-Let me first say this kid has always been like Big Foot to me since last spring. Meaning I've always heard his name and people talk about his upside and potential but I've never been able to see any film or highlights on him until recently lol anyway I digress. Even though he didn't light up the scoreboard finishing with only 7pts, I was actually quite impress with him and what he could be down the line. Silva's motor was not lacking in this one as he ran the floor on each end like a 400m runner. He showed off his athleticism jumping really high for numerous grown man rebounds in traffic, even starting the break handling the rock a few times with mixed results haha. He's not as comfortable as Diagne operating in the post, as his HS coach noted recently that the post moves are the last stage of the game he needs to work on. With that said he did score a few times in the post and was able to draw a couple of fouls to get to the line. Surprisingly he's more comfortable shooting jumpers out on the perimeter. He knocked down a nice mid-range shot and even shot a few threes that didn't miss too badly. He's definitely a work in progress as well but I love how active he was rebounding, protecting the paint, and running the floor on both ends. I think out of all the bigs we're recruiting he's the most athletic and has the best versatility to play the 4 and 5.

Overall-Personally I don't think we can go wrong with any of the following from Bryant/Diagne/Silva. I still think because of the close local connection and with how much time he has already spent around SU and the coaching staff that Bryant would be the best and most important get. His size and length is superior currently to both Diagne and Silva. Unfortunately I think he'll drag out the process for some time and I could see somebody like Diagne accepting the offer first.

 

[zeekay]

...

So then I'm guessing from a fan perspective this is the ranking of who we need to get (only one of them will come to SU):
1. Bryant
2. Diagne
3. Silva

 

[tee1222]

Through all the great details, don't think all of us didn't catch the "Gifted One". That was as silky smooth as the kid's jumper. You coined The Creator and this. Gold, both of them.
Much thanks, as always Francis.

 

[tee1222]

To add, sorry to hear about Diagne. That was a tough game. Hopefully he fights back in the coming weeks.

 

[Francis03]

So then I'm guessing from a fan perspective this is the ranking of who we need to get (only one of them will come to SU):
1. Bryant
2. Diagne
3. Silva

My personal preference at the moment is 1.Bryant 2.Silva 3.Diagne. Why I'll probably bump Silva to 2, is because he offers the versatility to play at the 4 and 5. Diagne only has skills for the 5, but his current height at 6'8 hurts him even though he has a long 7'3 wingspan.

 

[Francis03]

To add, sorry to hear about Diagne. That was a tough game. Hopefully he fights back in the coming weeks.

He definitely needs to step it up when another showcase game against a good team takes place. I heard the Pope John conference comp is basically a joke and he should be putting up those monster numbers that you have posted recently.

 

[tbonezone]

i like diagne. don't know that he's a must have. as stated above i'd have preferred jones as a swing.
any word on Mustaf Herod Apyur Poupr ?

 

[AWMKY]

My personal preference at the moment is 1.Bryant 2.Silva 3.Diagne. Why I'll probably bump Silva to 2, is because he offers the versatility to play at the 4 and 5. Diagne only has skills for the 5, but his current height at 6'8 hurts him even though he has a long 7'3 wingspan.

Francis03 - This class have two more commits in it? Bryant and Howard now priorities? Jones a luxury?

 

[Yamdat44]

Francis03 - This class have two more commits in it? Bryant and Howard now priorities? Jones a luxury?

Hello everyone, new to the board but have been following for a long time, as well as Francis' site. I agree that Bryant/Diagne would be the next biggest get, but with all the talk about Ennis being a one and done since he is filling in right where MCW left off, maybe PG should be the next get? Would be nice to pair Diagne and a solid PG. Diagne could be a 3-4 year player where Bryant is one or two and done.

 

[AWMKY]

Hello everyone, new to the board but have been following for a long time, as well as Francis' site. I agree that Bryant/Diagne would be the next biggest get, but with all the talk about Ennis being a one and done since he is filling in right where MCW left off, maybe PG should be the next get? Would be nice to pair Diagne and a solid PG. Diagne could be a 3-4 year player where Bryant is one or two and done.

Welcome to the board - great to have you posting!

Staff has offers to guard Isaiah Briscoe (recruitment has been questionable) and Franklin Howard. Had an offer to now Nova commit Donte DiVincenzo.

Here is Franklin Howard in action:

 

[Yamdat44]

Welcome to the board - great to have you posting!

Staff has offers to guard Isaiah Briscoe (recruitment has been questionable) and Franklin Howard. Had an offer to now Nova commit Donte DiVincenzo.

Here is Franklin Howard in action:

Thank you for the welcome! I like Howard, he seems to have a nice jumper and comes from a good basketball school. My worries with him are he does not look like an explosive finisher around the rim, and doesn't show what I would consider a PG handle. Anyone know if the video out on him just doesn't show that or is it truly something he needs to add to his game? Did we ever offer Cheatham? That kid is supposedly improving a lot, the new video on him is impressive. I liked DiVincenzo, he seemed to have some Devendorf in his game to me. I'm sure he will do well at Nova. I heard Crawford is out from Gonzaga with an injury and wasn't playing so well this year anyway before the injury.

 

[AWMKY]

Thank you for the welcome! I like Howard, he seems to have a nice jumper and comes from a good basketball school. My worries with him are he does not look like an explosive finisher around the rim, and doesn't show what I would consider a PG handle. Anyone know if the video out on him just doesn't show that or is it truly something he needs to add to his game? Did we ever offer Cheatham? That kid is supposedly improving a lot, the new video on him is impressive. I liked DiVincenzo, he seemed to have some Devendorf in his game to me. I'm sure he will do well at Nova. I heard Crawford is out from Gonzaga with an injury and wasn't playing so well this year anyway before the injury.

Someone a few months ago mentioned that Cheatham may stay in the south - was probably Francis03. By probably I meant it was Francis.

 

[Yamdat44]

Someone a few months ago mentioned that Cheatham may stay in the south - was probably Francis03. By probably I meant it was Francis.

I think Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza will still be at UF so that helps the cause, not sure what other schools are involved I think he stated Kansas inquired recently. Our old buddy Newton should still be at Miami running point. AWMKY - On a side note how do we embed youtube clips here?

 

[AWMKY]

I think Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza will still be at UF so that helps the cause, not sure what other schools are involved I think he stated Kansas inquired recently. Our old buddy Newton should still be at Miami running point. AWMKY - On a side note how do we embed youtube clips here?

I just paste the links straight into the typing field - works!

 

[Francis03]

Francis03 - This class have two more commits in it? Bryant and Howard now priorities? Jones a luxury?

I think that's the goal.

 

[Yamdat44]

I think that's the goal.

Francis, love the insight you provide. Are you high on Howard being able to live up to the MCW, Ennis, KJ legacy? Any chance Bryant would pull the trigger before the Duke game? Does Diagne commit after the visit first?

 

[Francis03]

Thank you for the welcome! I like Howard, he seems to have a nice jumper and comes from a good basketball school. My worries with him are he does not look like an explosive finisher around the rim, and doesn't show what I would consider a PG handle. Anyone know if the video out on him just doesn't show that or is it truly something he needs to add to his game? Did we ever offer Cheatham? That kid is supposedly improving a lot, the new video on him is impressive. I liked DiVincenzo, he seemed to have some Devendorf in his game to me. I'm sure he will do well at Nova. I heard Crawford is out from Gonzaga with an injury and wasn't playing so well this year anyway before the injury.

Welcome to the board and thanks for checking out my site as well. Howard's PG skills is all a mystery until he returns back in action from the ACL injury. It's 50/50 whether he'll return this season or wait until the AAU sessions in the spring. When I watched him last season he was basically a SG, but the plan is for him to make that transition to a tall PG and become another MCW. Cheatham actually plays his HS ball about 20 minutes from my home and the word I received back in the early part of last summer was that he's very close to his family and would most likely stay in the south. Doesn't mean things couldn't change but SU hasn't been mentioned with him in a long time. Other guards in 2015 that's worth keeping an eye is Stevie Jr, Kaleb's backcourt partner Jalen Adams, and Donovan Mitchell. Hop has kept tabs on all three but no offers so far.

 

[Francis03]

Francis, love the insight you provide. Are you high on Howard being able to live up to the MCW, Ennis, KJ legacy? Any chance Bryant would pull the trigger before the Duke game? Does Diagne commit after the visit first?

Thanks. Check above about Howard. Can't really have any opinion on him until I see him play again later this year. Would be surprise if Bryant committed early, even though I really hope I'm wrong. Just seems to want to get a lot of attention that the recruiting process will bring and I'm sure he would want to visit schools like UK, KU, Zona etc before making a decision. I could easily see Diagne pulling the trigger early especially if visits for the Duke game. Would be Diagne's 4th visit within a year to SU, obviously setting them up in good shape to land him. With that said, I thought for sure it was a done deal after Midnight Madness. So I'm not taking anything for granted in that department again.

 

[AZOrange]

According to ESPN, he is only 6-8. That seems way too small, with his frame, to play center. Someone please fill clueless me in on his game.

Onuaku was about 6-8

 

[jarandle9]

Francis, if Diagne was to commit early, do you think that would have any affect on the recruitment of Bryant? There isn't a first come first serve with these two correct?