Moustapha Diagne the next Rakeem Christmas

[SBU72]

I only watched the first 35 seconds of that video. In that time I saw maybe one kid that appeared to be of similar height and athletic ability playing defense against him. I'm with you on holding off any assessment of this kid's game until I actually see him play against D1 college athletes. Seems like just 12 months ago we were hearing about this McCullough kid who was going to be the next Melo. Let's just take a breath people.

Yup. I'd like to see a list of those who were rated highly and did not live up to expectations (not just perceived but ratings) compared to the ones who were "under-rated" but were able to be better than advertised. Freshman year. Which is going to be longer?

 

[Brooky03]

I wouldn't agree that Diagne has no offensive skill. This is the most excited I've been about a recruit in a long time.

 

[Henny & Coke]

I only watched the first 35 seconds of that video. In that time I saw maybe one kid that appeared to be of similar height and athletic ability playing defense against him. I'm with you on holding off any assessment of this kid's game until I actually see him play against D1 college athletes. Seems like just 12 months ago we were hearing about this McCullough kid who was going to be the next Melo. Let's just take a breath people.

Just FYI - McCullough had a double-double in each of his first 8 games this year. Not sure any Freshman has ever done that at SU.

And his averages in those first 8 games were probably the best for a Frosh since Melo:

14.4 ppg, 34.5 mpg, 8.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 2.4 bpg, 2.6 tpg

Not sure what happened in the 8 games after that, but he still finished with some nice averages on the season. So I'd pump the brakes a bit on implying he was overrated too much...

 

[jordoo]

Being cautious about how a recruit adjusts or hesitant about his contributions as a freshman is much different than saying said recruit "has no offensive skill". This is why the OP has been meet with so many dissenting opinions. It doesn't take much effort to find that Diange does indeed have offensive skills. Questioning whether they will transfer and how he will develop at the college level is understandable its the factually wrong statement that people are pointing out.

 

[jordoo]

For 2-3zone and anyone else who doesn't spend much time on the recruiting board. Don't see how anyone can watch this and think 'no offensive skill.' Watch and come to your own conclusions.
Forget who said it on the other board but I agree: if he was a couple inches taller people would be talking about him as a 1 and done.

And regardless of competition level or it being a highlight video this is clear evidence of offensive skills especially for a big guy. He finishes with both hands, with touch and with power. He has nice form on the jumper all the way out to the 3 line, not that I expect him to take many jumpers early in his career but the fundamental form is quite advanced for a guy his size. He shows post moves and good footwork. He dribbles and controls his body well heading to the basket after picking up the bounce. Its not Fab Melo doing skills in an empty gym. Its not 4 minutes of just dunking.

 

[longtimefan]

I only watched the first 35 seconds of that video. In that time I saw maybe one kid that appeared to be of similar height and athletic ability playing defense against him. I'm with you on holding off any assessment of this kid's game until I actually see him play against D1 college athletes. Seems like just 12 months ago we were hearing about this McCullough kid who was going to be the next Melo. Let's just take a breath people.

Highlight reels can be deceiving.

Which is why my positive review is based upon watching parts of a couple of big AAU matches from last spring. He was playing against D-I level opponents of comparable size. I didn't see much in the way of a perimeter game. But he did good work in the post--nice footwork, ability to finish with both hands, a tough rebounding mindset, and an occasional blocked shot. Plus, when the one game got close in the 4th quarter, plays were run for him in the low post 3 times down the court--and he delivered. And this on a team that featured Briscoe.

I also like that he appears to be capable of manning the 4 and the 5 in both our offensive and defensive systems.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

Offensively, Diagne next year will probably be closer to the senior Rak than the freshman Rak. :noidea:

IMO, you are off base. If Diagne sees floor time he will be the last offensive option on the floor. Seniors TC and MG, a junior Roberson, a highly recruited and skilled offensive player in Richardson, McC, and DC2 - all way ahead of Diagne.

Rak is our top offensive option this year, Diagne, if he sees the floor, will be the last.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Just FYI - McCullough had a double-double in each of his first 8 games this year. Not sure any Freshman has ever done that at SU.

And his averages in those first 8 games were probably the best for a Frosh since Melo:

14.4 ppg, 34.5 mpg, 8.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 2.4 bpg, 2.6 tpg

Not sure what happened in the 8 games after that, but he still finished with some nice averages on the season. So I'd pump the brakes a bit on implying he was overrated too much...

True, but some of those games were against some really bad competition, and there were more games after that. I took a look at the games and he did play well against some decent talent but he completely fell off the table after the St. John's game. Which makes me speculate that he was injured in that game or near then. His explosiveness completely went away. Not sure what happened.

My only point was that we've been hearing about the next great recruit for years and years and it so rarely comes true that it makes me question all the "next big thing" posts around here. The OP was probably being hyperbolic for effect, but the rush to destroy him and say Diagne is closer to this year's Rak than last is just silly as well. Very few big men come in and are immediately effective in the SU zone. Just doesn't happen.

 

[Henny & Coke]

True, but some of those games were against some really bad competition, and there were more games after that. I took a look at the games and he did play well against some decent talent but he completely fell off the table after the St. John's game. Which makes me speculate that he was injured in that game or near then. His explosiveness completely went away. Not sure what happened.

My only point was that we've been hearing about the next great recruit for years and years and it so rarely comes true that it makes me question all the "next big thing" posts around here. The OP was probably being hyperbolic for effect, but the rush to destroy him and say Diagne is closer to this year's Rak than last is just silly as well. Very few big men come in and are immediately effective in the SU zone. Just doesn't happen.

Yeah, it really was strange how McCullough's performance in his last 8 games were so different from the first 8. Not sure I've ever seen anything like it - makes me also question if an injury occurred, like you mention. Cause that's a dramatic drop-off to be non-injury related, IMO. But I'm just guessing.

 

[Cowtown]

I only watched the first 35 seconds of that video. In that time I saw maybe one kid that appeared to be of similar height and athletic ability playing defense against him. I'm with you on holding off any assessment of this kid's game until I actually see him play against D1 college athletes. Seems like just 12 months ago we were hearing about this McCullough kid who was going to be the next Melo. Let's just take a breath people.

Yeah I found myself thinking he looks pretty good against some 6'-0"s, but highlight reels don't tell the whole story. Still, "no offensive skills" is a little much.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Rakeem came to SU with no offensive skill but was athletic and could rebound and block shots.

Diagne has no offensive skill but rebounds well and runs the floor well with his high motor.

Can't wait to see him get to work with Mike Hopkins and hopefully develop an offensive game

How can you say Rak had no offensive skill set? Look at this!


Watching that I am absolutely astounded at how one-sided he was (all right hand) compared to what we see now. I'm not sure I've ever seen a player develop his off hand so completely.

And as was said elsewhere in this thread, highlight videos are deceiving at best. But damn I wish we had focused more on Rak earlier in his career at SU.

 

[TBCuse11]

I only watched the first 35 seconds of that video. In that time I saw maybe one kid that appeared to be of similar height and athletic ability playing defense against him. I'm with you on holding off any assessment of this kid's game until I actually see him play against D1 college athletes. Seems like just 12 months ago we were hearing about this McCullough kid who was going to be the next Melo. Let's just take a breath people.

Its natural for a fan base to overrate the guys they have coming in... Diagne is becoming that guy it seems.

That said, the original post is off base... clearly Diagne has a skill set.

 

[reedny]

Paul Biancardi though. Next we'll see somebody refer to Crystal Ball Jerry and his great evaluations. Jordoo, I believe has mentioned in the past that there is so much good info and detailed evaluations on recruits in the recruiting forum from people who have actually seen them play. For whatever reason a good percentage of peeps that post here pays absolutely no attention to it unfortunately.

Did you catch his no-look to a cutter at the 56 second mark Seems like he's a pretty good scorer and passer for a guy with "no offensive skill". lol

 

[jordoo]

Did you catch his no-look to a cutter at the 56 second mark Seems like he's a pretty good scorer and passer for a guy with "no offensive skill". lol

Biancardi's and 2-3zone's no look evaluations of Diange's offensive skills where on a much lower level than his no look pass.

 

[two3zone]

Yeah you need to watch some vids on how this kid plays around the bucket. He looks a man among boys yet still can use a soft touch. He has the aggressive mentality Rak did not as a frosh as well.

I can show you videos of any high school kid and he looks like the next great player.

 

[pearl31]

I can show you videos of any high school kid and he looks like the next great player.

your posts, invariably:

Kudos on the consistency, I guess

 

[jekelish]

I can show you videos of any high school kid and he looks like the next great player.

That's probably why you should listen to the people here who have watched him play full games and will attest to his offensive skill set. He's got great form on his jumper, he can finish with both hands, and he's a better passer than I ever expected. He's not going to be confused with Tim Duncan, but he's certainly not even remotely raw offensively.

 

[two3zone]

your posts, invariably:

Kudos on the consistency, I guess

You use mix tapes to evaluate players?

 

[two3zone]

That's probably why you should listen to the people here who have watched him play full games and will attest to his offensive skill set. He's got great form on his jumper, he can finish with both hands, and he's a better passer than I ever expected. He's not going to be confused with Tim Duncan, but he's certainly not even remotely raw offensively.

I'll follow scouting reports and what the coaching staff have to say rather than the "scouts" around here. I'm not calling any particular people out or anything but there has been a lot of bad information passed along about our recruits coming in. I get it, we want every guy coming in to be the next great thing and will overlook the bad if it comes out, but there's nothing wrong with my view on this even if it isn't a popular opinion. The good thing about all of this is we have a full season to watch these guys develop and hope they can lead us to a bunch of wins. Trust me, there isn't anybody that would like to see these guys be the best players in the country and lead us to an undefeated championship season. I just have cautious opinions.

 

[jekelish]

I'll follow scouting reports and what the coaching staff have to say rather than the "scouts" around here. I'm not calling any particular people out or anything but there has been a lot of bad information passed along about our recruits coming in. I get it, we want every guy coming in to be the next great thing and will overlook the bad if it comes out, but there's nothing wrong with my view on this even if it isn't a popular opinion. The good thing about all of this is we have a full season to watch these guys develop and hope they can lead us to a bunch of wins. Trust me, there isn't anybody that would like to see these guys be the best players in the country and lead us to an undefeated championship season. I just have cautious opinions.

There's nothing wrong with being cautious at all. But I think the scouting reports you're looking at are drastically out of date. Again, I'm not saying Diagne is going to be Timmy Duncan on offense, but he's also not Chino.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'll follow scouting reports and what the coaching staff have to say rather than the "scouts" around here. I'm not calling any particular people out or anything but there has been a lot of bad information passed along about our recruits coming in. I get it, we want every guy coming in to be the next great thing and will overlook the bad if it comes out, but there's nothing wrong with my view on this even if it isn't a popular opinion. The good thing about all of this is we have a full season to watch these guys develop and hope they can lead us to a bunch of wins. Trust me, there isn't anybody that would like to see these guys be the best players in the country and lead us to an undefeated championship season. I just have cautious opinions.

I fully understand your post, but people are warning you on Richardson and you think he's guaranteed to be the best recruit coming in next year...so I guess we all are half right?

 

[jekelish]

Something I didn't realize about Tapha until I just looked at his numbers: he actually hit 9 three pointers last year.

 

[two3zone]

I fully understand your post, but people are warning you on Richardson and you think he's guaranteed to be the best recruit coming in next year...so I guess we all are half right?

I don't think Richardson is guaranteed to be excellent, but I think he is ahead of everybody else coming in.

 

[two3zone]

There's nothing wrong with being cautious at all. But I think the scouting reports you're looking at are drastically out of date. Again, I'm not saying Diagne is going to be Timmy Duncan on offense, but he's also not Chino.

I don't think he's Chino at all, I fully expect Diagne to play 20+ minutes and well ahead of Chino on the depth chart. I think Diange will be an great defender in the zone and is extremely athletic. Everybody probably knows my stance on Chino since he's committed to Syracuse.

 

[jekelish]

I don't think he's Chino at all, I fully expect Diagne to play 20+ minutes and well ahead of Chino on the depth chart. I think Diange will be an great defender in the zone and is extremely athletic. Everybody probably knows my stance on Chino since he's committed to Syracuse.

I think you're going to be very pleasantly surprised by Tapha's offensive skill level, is basically the point I'm trying to make. He's farther along than Rick Jackson at the same stage, offensively, IMO.