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 a 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. 

Last week we examined Moussa on defense here. Highly recommended. 

Face-Up Game

Given his elite athleticism, it's no surprise that facing up from the perimeter is Diabate's biggest positional advantage at this stage in his development. The first possession in the clip above provides a great visual of Moussa's first step acceleration. He rips through and blows by an opposing big in a straight line, then proceeds to throw down an emphatic dunk over a help defender. 

The possession starting at the :13 second mark above is ridiculous from a 6'10 HS senior. Diabate gives his primary defender a ball-fake left to get him off-balance, leaves him in the dust and drives right, before shedding two help-defenders with a euro-step and drawing a foul. In the last 5 years I don't know that I've seen 10 bigs at the HS level with this combination of quick-twitch acceleration, ball skills, body control and fluidity. Absolutely elite stuff that is tantalizing for me as an evaluator. The 99th percentile athlete grade very much plays out on the offensive end as well. 

The very next possession in the clip reinforces just how advanced Moussa's ball-skills and spatial awareness are considering his size and position. He attacks a closeout and blows-by junior 3-star wing AJ Storr (offers from Illinois, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech) before dropping a dumpoff pass in a very tight space for an easy layup. A 6'10 player at any level shouldn't be able to do that. 

Finally, let's take a look at the final possession of the clip above. Diabate strings together a combination of ball-fakes/footwork/change of speed that would make Kobe Bryant proud. He starts off with a shot fake, then jabs right, hits Pepperdine signee Carson Basham with a crossover before a hesitation dribble gives him space for a running sky-hook with the left hand. That is video game level skill from a 6'10 kid. 

There is no question Moussa is going to have a huge advantage on the perimeter considering the B10 is experiencing a shift back toward more traditional bigs. Diabate is going to get multiple opportunities per game to exploit this advantage, particularly in ballscreen action when he pops out (as opposed to rolling to the rim) and in Horns action from the elbow. There is simply no big currently playing in the B10 with the requisite size/length/agility to defend Moussa's combination of ball-skills and athleticism on the perimeter.

[Hit THE JUMP for the full evaluation]

Passing/Playmaking

The most undervalued facet of Diabate's game is his vision. His versatility a passer on the move and from stationary positions was the most pleasant surprise in my evaluation.

We won't go into detail on the first possession in the clip above since it was addressed above. Instead, let's take a thorough look at how his passing ability projects at Michigan with certain line-up combinations. In particular, with one Hunter Dickinson.

I've received a ton of questions as to how a potential Diabate/Dickinson frontcourt pairing would work offensively. The two possessions starting at the :28 second mark above provide a glimpse into the future. The first is high-low action from the wing where Diabate places the pass to the right of a defender that is playing 3/4 post-defense to prevent a catch in the middle of the paint. The pass placement is such that only his teammate can catch it, while leading him just enough so that he can turn, put the defender on his hip and convert an easy layup. Much of the same on the second possession, with this delivery coming from the corner rather than the wing. The common theme with both is that Moussa has good spatial awareness, great execution in terms of pass placement and soft touch.

For a Michigan team that runs Horns action frequently under Juwan Howard, this is a great development for the projected Diabate/Dickinson frontcourt. Dickinson thrives as post-scorer (98th percentile per Synergy), and having Moussa as an entry passer alleviates some of the potential spacing concerns. I probably don't need to tell you this combination will most certainly be formidable defensively. 

I also really liked what I saw from Diabate as a passer on the move. The three possessions starting at the :45 second mark above were impressive and are further evidence of his advanced spatial awareness for a big.

All three are identical in that they feature Moussa getting the ball in stride, taking a dribble or two before the help defender commits to cutting off his driving lane and Diabate kicking out to an open shooter in the corner. He has the body control to avoid the charge, the spatial awareness to see the open man in the corner and the skill to execute good passes. 

This bodes really well for Moussa's potential as a passer in situations where he is the short roll-man in pick-and-roll action in the mold of Bam Adebayo. These scenarios often unfold in the same manner as the three aforementioned possessions. Opposing defenses have a helpside defender tag the roller right around the FT line in an attempt to perhaps draw a charge and/or force the big to make a decision/be a playmaker. If the short roller is an adequate playmaker, the defense is forced to give up an open 3, a baseline cutter or the defense is in full scramble mode. 

Finishing

Moussa is an elite leaper that possesses quick twitch explosion off 1 or 2 legs. Because of that ability, he's a very good finisher in confined spaces or the open court. Really not a ton of analysis here, he's a better athlete than just about any HS prospect in the country at his position. He can simply elevate over defenders with his combination of leaping, length and body control. 

What really pops out though, is that Diabate attacks the rim with bad intentions. He's looking to dunk more often than not, regardless of whether a defender is in the vicinity. His elevation and body control is such that contact isn't going to deter him at all. When he does opt to go with the finesse option, he has outstanding body control and contorts his body in such a way that he ends up with clean layup attempts at the rim.

Another small evaluation point is Moussa's ability to finish with the off-hand. He has outstanding touch with his left-hand on the move and gets full extension with his left arm to convert over length. 

In sum, Diabate's mindset of going over and through defenders (rather than around) at the rim likely translates to a nice volume of +1s and free throw attempts in half-court situations. In transition he may very well be the most lethal finisher at his position in the B10 as a freshman, as you simply don't find bigs with his level of straight line speed and vertical explosion off 1 or 2 legs. Moussa has potential to be the best finisher at Michigan over the last 20 years with just minor gains in Camp Sanderson. 

Perimeter Shooting

This part of Diabate's game is coming on rapidly. Moussa gets good elevation on his jumper, solid balance, the elbow is tucked in, great rotation on the ball and minimal extra motion. The only real blemish on the mechanics is consistency in the release point. 

At times, he can extend his arms in a bit of an outward motion (release point closer to the front of his face rather than above the head). This issue is really visible at the :29 mark of the clip above. When this occurs, the shot is going to be flat on most occasions. Contrast that with the first two shots in the clip above and you can certainly make the distinction. 

Diabate's shots are almost all on-line. The question is simply whether there is enough arch to give the shot a chance to go in. This is preferable in relation to other mechanical issues. It's generally easier to fix a release point as opposed to extra motion issues (think swing shots such as Zak Irvin and Lonzo Ball), which are extremely difficult to fix during one season in college. 

Moussa definitely has some potential as a pick-and-pop option in college. His mechanics are very close to being ideal for a big and he's already flashing ability to hit shots in that exact action  with IMG. I think Juwan Howard is going to give him some freedom in that regard considering what we've seen from Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams experimenting with the same. If he can shoot the ball at a 30-33% clip from distance he is going to absolutely feast on opposing defenses in tandem with his ball-skills and ability to attack closeouts. 

Offensive Rebounding

Diabate is an elite offensive rebounder, period. While rebounding is partially technique based (inside position is optimal and learning the finer points of holding with one-arm and rebounding with the other), to a large degree it comes down to effort level assuming one has adequate size/length/elevation. In addition to the quick twitch athleticism and length, his motor operates at a level the opposition simply fails to reach. 

Looking at the first two possessions clipped above really puts this in perspective. Moussa's second jump is lightning quick and he just refuses to concede anything. The ball doesn't need to be within his catch radius for Diabate to be effective, as his ball pursuit is outstanding and he will cover 15-20 feet of ground to crash the offensive glass. 

When you have a player on your roster sporting a 7'3 wingspan that possesses NBA caliber leaping ability coupled with the motor of Dennis Rodman, things tend to go well on offensive glass. Moussa is definitely going to make a big impact on the offensive boards by generating extra possessions and garbage points via putbacks and kickouts to the perimeter. 

Transition

In what is becoming a theme, Diabate is great in transition in large part due to his elite athleticism and motor. Moussa has great straight line speed for a big and hauls ass when he's changing ends from defense to offense on rim-runs.

In the vast majority of possessions in the clip above, he outruns nearly everyone on the court to create easy looks at the rim. It punishes the opposition for crashing the offensive glass/playing traditional bigs and creates favorable cross-matches that lead to easy points.

You don't see many bigs as lob threats in transition because they're generally at the backend of the defense and lag behind because of it. Well, Diabate can easily overcome that and I expect him to be on the receiving end of some highlight alley-oops in Crisler with the explosive leaping ability to compliment his speed. 

Not much else to say here, a fast pogo-stick that goes hard on rim-runs is a another source of easy points and something Michigan has lacked for years. 

Post-Offense

Diabate didn't get a ton of back-to-the-basket opportunities in my viewings, but thrived in the limited chances he did have. 

His most polished move was a drop-step/spin going left. He erased an erect defender by getting his elbow in the defender's chest on the spin and removing him from the equation before elevating for an easy layup. It was quick, compact and balanced. 

While it was only one possession, Moussa looked great with his passing ability after drawing a double in the paint at the :14 mark of the clip. That is an extremely difficult pass to make in the air for an NBA player, let alone a HS senior. Need to see a bigger sample of his passing from the post, but this flash was encouraging. 

The other component of his post game is, you guessed it, elite athleticism. The possessions at the :06 and :28 second marks feature Diabate out-atheleting the opposition. He elevates over the defender for a clean look on a jump-hook over his left shoulder in the first, while utilizing his elite acceleration on a baseline drop-step for a dunk (was fouled, no call) in the second.

I don't envision this being a huge part of his role at Michigan since Hunter Dickinson may be the best back-to-the-basket big in America next season. But it will be an option during non-Hunter minutes and something Juwan Howard may tinker with since Dickinson is an elite passer from the top of the key. 

Free Throws

I only captured 6 free throws in my viewing and while the results weren't great, there is some potential here. Much like his jumpshooting, the mechanics are pretty good at the charity stripe, with a one-motion shot and soft touch.

The only real mechanical issue is the inconsistency in the knee bend. At times he's a bit too upright and the shot is short because of it. This is something that's easily correctable, particularly in a situation where he has time to collect himself mentally and think about proper lower body mechanics.