I made several trips over the last two months to get a detailed look at 2021 signee Moussa Diabate. Suiting up for IMG Academy (FL) at the Border League in late October and a one-off versus Calvary Christian (FL) last weekend. This was a great opportunity to see how Diabate stacked up versus some of the best high school competition in the country.

At the Border League event in late October, IMG squared off against Bishop Gorman (NV) and Sunnyslope (AZ).  Bishop Gorman featured a pair of top 50 guards in UCLA signee Will McClendon and UNLV signee Zaon Collins along with 3-star junior wing AJ Storr and sophomore big Osiris Grady (holds offer from Ole Miss). The focal points for Sunnyslope were Pepperdine signee Carson Basham and low D1 guard Oakland Fort. 

Last weekend's matchup against Calvary Christian was an absolute thriller. CC came in as one of the most talented teams in Florida with 2022 4-star offer Gregg Glenn, 4-star junior big Taylor Hendricks (father is former Michigan safety Tommy Hendricks!), low D1 2022 guard Tyler Hendricks and 5-star sophomore guard Marvel Allen. 

This is the first, and perhaps the only time, where I will start a Future Hoops Originals on the defensive side of the ball. That should give you a hint as to how good of a defender Moussa Diabate is. Let the fun begin, folks. 

Switchability/On-Ball Defense

The fact that we're starting off a deep-dive defensive analysis with the on-ball defense of a 6'10 prospect sheds light as to just how elite of an athlete Diabate is. I like to initially examine physical facets when projecting on-ball defense and Moussa grades out as high as one can get for his position. Moussa has elite lateral agility and changes directions with ease. His stop and go movement is as good as I've seen from a HS big. His straight line speed is also elite for his position. To provide a bit of quantitative context, I'd grade Diabate as a 99th percentile athlete given his size/length/position. 

In terms of technique, the defensive stance immediately pops out. At roughly the :04 second mark of the first possession in the clip above, Moussa gets lower than a 6'1 guard in top-50 overall prospect Zaon Collins. That level of flexibility in tandem with elite agility allows him to turn his hips and change direction like a guard because he's never in a flat-footed position. He beat Collins to the spot twice on that possession in an amazing display of athleticism and defensive prowess. 

The :32 second mark of the clip above displays one of the more jaw-dropping possessions of basketball I've viewed in the last five years or so. IMG Head Coach Sean McAloon wants to apply full court pressure vs Calvary Christian and calls on Diabate to get the job done against the opposing PG. Moussa stays attached to the PG, knocks the ball loose before he can get to half-court and forces him to give up the ball as soon as he crosses the half-court line. McAloon choosing Moussa as the designated ball-hawk on an IMG team loaded with elite athletes along with the corresponding results definitely lends support to that of a 99th percentile athlete. 

I fully expect Diabate to be one of the most switchable bigs in the B10, if not the most adequate switcher, the day he steps foot on campus in Ann Arbor. He has an elite combination of size, length, agility and speed that I've seen from few prospects over the years. Additionally, he is a motivated defender that takes every possession serious on that end of the court. The possessions clipped above were consistent as opposed to flashes of a suggested ceiling. Good luck to opponents with intentions of running ballscreen action against Moussa Diabate. 

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Rim Protection

I'm not going to pretend that technique is a huge component of rim protection. The truth is that size/length/leaping ability are the biggest factors in that regard. Moussa definitely checks all the boxes in terms of physical profile. He measured 6'8.5 (without shoes) with a 7'3 wingspan—as a sophomore-to-be at the 2018 Nike Elite 100. Add in explosive leaping ability and it's no surprise that Moussa is a good rim protector.

While he definitely has some wow moments with helpside and chasedown blocks in the clip above, I was actually more impressed with his ability to alter shots from a more stationary position. The second possession in the clip above really demonstrates this, as a fully-extended Diabate is able to alter an otherwise easy shot by virtue of that 7'3 wingspan. And he doesn't come close to fouling either, as his contest is textbook. More of the same at the :21 second mark of the clip above. His length absolutely swallows Pepperdine signee Carson Basham and forces a travel and Moussa didn't even have to jump.

Diabate is going to be a very good rim protector. A reasonable expectation is for him to average 1.5 blocks (probably low-end, depending on playing time) per contest while altering a ton more. His length and leaping ability is going to make it tough sledding in the paint for the opposition. He alters shots from more stationary positions and is explosive as a helpside defender. 

Off-Ball Defense

To complement his outstanding agility and length, Moussa displays great instincts as an off-ball defender. It's almost unreal to watch a HS senior of this size anticipate passes and burst to the ball for a steal. When you have elite size/length/agility coupled with the awareness of an all-conference safety, things tend to go well. And that is exactly what we're getting with Diabate. He covers so much ground in such a short period of time that it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that he's 6'10. 

Those instincts aren't limited to jumping passing lanes either. The possession starting at the :22 mark of the clip above is just next-level recognition and athleticism. Moussa diagnoses the offensive play, stunts out to the shooter and denies the shot, then switches on a ballscreen to force a contested 25 foot pull-up in roughly 2.5 seconds total. Wow. 

On the very next play, he rotates over to prevent an easy layup. This seems rather routine on first glance, but look at his positioning. He has the awareness to step just outside of the restricted area to avoid a potential charge call. Again, just next level stuff here. 

Diabate is going to wreak havoc as an off-ball defender in the B10. He's going to generate steals/deflections that lead to turnovers and result in easy baskets. The movement of a guard, size/length of giant human and great instincts make it so. 

Closeouts

It's well established at this point that Diabate is an exceptional athlete that is going to be a good defender at Michigan because of it. But that's not the sole reason, as his effort is clap-worthy as well.

Take a look at the first possession in the clip above. That is a 6'10 kid fighting through a screen 15 feet away from the shooter. He recovers and blocks a jumpshot. 

The very next possession is definitely college Anthony Davis stuff. He fights through the screen in the same spot, forces the shooter to take a sidestep dribble, then recovers to the shooter to contest the shot and force a wild miss. Absolutely unreal. That level of athleticism and awareness simply isn't fair. 

A common theme on closeouts for Moussa is he hauls ass to get to the shooter, then his natural size/length/athleticism takes over. I like this very much and you should too. He's going to make it difficult for shooters coming off screens to get clean looks on his watch. 

Post Defense

Post defense is very much about technique in addition to physical attributes. Diabate is great at walling up and using his length to force tough shots.

Moussa fully extends his 7'3 wingspan on a consistent basis without fouling to force the offensive player into taking a heavily contested shot. As you might imagine, this is beneficial to Diabate. The result is generally a miss or a circuit shot. 

Moussa can get walked under the rim by stonger bigs with more mass, but even then his length compensates and is able to alter shots. I don't anticipate this being an issue, as he has a frame that can easily add 10-20 pounds of muscle mass and that is exactly what Camp Sanderson will do.