January 18th, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
Rivals did not exactly have top 10 recruit level glowing report of him last game against Montverde.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^
That’s precisely the issue when a scouting service makes evaluations based on 1 game. Need minimum of 3 games to evaluate + project.
Has been the best player on the court today by a wide margin.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
Matt, did you watch the Montverde game by chance? I did not see it.
Houstan was extremely efficient based on box score. Howard not so much.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:45 PM ^
Outstanding catch + shoot type with good positional size and defensive awareness.
Projects to fill in for Isaiah Livers. Hope to see him live in the coming weeks.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:40 PM ^
Apparently ESPNU is no longer a part of my cable package. Well that is annoying.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:53 PM ^
Not currently watching this game, but I imagine he looks better than he did against Montverde? Yesterday he looked like he had a lot of raw athleticism and talent, but he just needs some time to put it all together. I think he could be a OaD but also easily have a Jalen Smith type path where he shows upside his freshman year then dominates his 2nd year and is a lottery pick
January 18th, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^
People failed to account for the fact that his individual matchup was with the best overall prospect regardless of class, Jalen Duren.
As I went through in great detail in my Future Hoops piece, Diabate’s best offensive skill is as face-up big. His combo of handle + acceleration makes it impossible for true bigs to stay in front of him. He’s coming on rapidly as a back-to-the-basket scorer and perimeter shooter.
Diabate has been REALLY impressive so far in the first half. Facing up and scoring off the bounce, scored with his back to the basket, offensive rebounds + putbacks, euro-steps in transition.......and switching on to 5star 2021 PG Kennedy Chandler and absolutely locking him up on the perimeter.
12pts, 5rebs and 1block in the first half.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
I've started watching and he's definitely been impressive. Duren really prevented him from doing a lot of what he's good at which makes sense. He will definitely benefit from Camp Sanderson and from Juwan's coaching/development though. There are definitely some dribble drives and post possessions where he looks a little lost or wild in terms of what the best way to actually get the ball in the hoop efficiently and Juwan definitely can help him with that. But his physical tools on both ends cannot be taught
January 18th, 2021 at 3:57 PM ^
I love Diabate's talent and potential. I am no expert. That said this layperson has the following observations from yesterday:
Diabate is a very good defender but at times he looked lost on deciding when to switch and who to cover. Many times he switched out onto a guard and left the middle wide open for one of the best players in the nation. His switching is an asset to his potential but right now it may be taking him out of position frequently. That may be a function of how the defense is structured.
On offense, he needs to develop some different ways to score. Right now it's only at the rim or sometimes a 3. There is no mid range game, no turnarounds, no hooks, etc. I feel like he has great potential in these areas but it's going to take time against higher level competition.
As a result, right now he is really more of a role player against top level competition (not necessarily a bad thing as he is a team player and doesn't always need the ball to make an impact). I think he will fit perfectly at Michigan (assuming Hunter stays) as a 4 with Hunter getting many offensive touches and Diabate working off the ball. He will also be a very good defender at the 4. But I don't know if he will show enough dominance to be a 1st rounder after one year. In time, he will. JMO.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^
Does anybody think this has the look of a role player? 6’10 with that level of ballhandling + athleticism is absolutely insane. Sheesh. And that vs the #3 team in the nation.
https://mobile.twitter.com/WhosNextHS/status/1351267821104336899
January 18th, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
I think we should clarify what "role player" means. Diabate's best skill on offense is using his athleticism to attack an inferior opponent with an explosive blow-by, elevation, or dunk. I don't think he's going to do a lot of dribbling and I don't think he's got a lot of true post moves yet. I think as a roll man in a ball-screen he could be great and I think playing the dunker spot like GR3 he could be phenomenal.
Role Player could still mean "guy who gets the most highlights" and impacts the game a lot....but you aren't going to drive the offense with him. The guards will use him in ball screens and he'll feed off of Dickinson post touches or put-backs. In that way he can dominate a game without much actual "usage". GR3 was a role player. DJ Wilson was a role player. Duncan was a role player. All of them are in the NBA.
January 18th, 2021 at 7:41 PM ^
Matt just let it go. You’re trying to explain it to persons who still shoot granny free-throws. Let’s just say he’s decent for a Top10 National High School Basketball player.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:08 PM ^
Hey Matt, watched last night's game and watching now.
These guys are freakish athletes for sure but the fundamentals is lacking greatly IMO.
Houston looks like he could be a OaD but Diabate is very raw offensively, love his hustle and effort but he needs a lot of work on his shot, he seems like he would greatly benefit from 2 years of tutelage under Juwan.
Jett looks like he'll be a really good college player too, probably at least a 3 year guy unless he breaks out and then maybe a 2 year guy.
I just hope these guys realize that trying to go to the NBA too soon is not usually advisable, take your time, get better and be the best you can be.
I love how Houstan plays, he looks so smooth, can't wait to see him in maize n blue!
January 18th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^
I've watched more high school basketball this season than ever before and it is abundantly clear why teams that are so reliant on freshmen struggle at times. Even these high level programs aren't really running complex stuff and the games tend to be very disjointed.
Fortunately, we have a great coaching staff who should be able to mold these guys into effective players early. I just really hope we bring in a veteran guard to steady the back-court....otherwise it could get really rough out there.
January 18th, 2021 at 5:49 PM ^
Eli Brooks, perhaps?
January 18th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^
He has an amazing shot. Just flawless.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
I’d probably disagree that Houston looks like a OAD. The question at the NBA level is always going to be “can you compete physically with world class athletes?”
Houstan projects as a Danny Green/Isaiah Livers/Cam Johnson type.
All of those guys were multi year college players because of questions surrounding their positional agility and overall athleticism.
But I do think he’ll be a good college player with a high floor.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
OAD is really hard to figure out these days. Some of it comes down to whether the guy just wants to leave even if he's a fringe draft pick.
I would agree that Houstan has a harder path to attracting the NBAs eyes as a freshman. The NBA loves amazing shooters and loves them even more when they're 6'8". But he would have to get enough chances to demonstrate that he's an elite shooter at the next level (which he probably will be) and be able to hold his own elsewhere for them to draft him high. There are still too many NBA teams that value "athleticism and potential" over "shooting" for him to be a sure thing.
Diabate is the opposite. He is such an athletic freak that teams will fall in love with his potential even if he struggles a bit next year with consistency.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:50 PM ^
Bigs generally don’t drive offense at the NBA level exclusive of Jokic, Embiid and AD, but that doesn’t necessarily mean one is a role player.
Pascal Siakam, for example, is certainly not a role player.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:43 PM ^
Houstan has an NBA shot. If he shoots like he is capable of at Michigan, he is in the NBA after 1 year. It doesn't matter if he cant dribble, pass, dunk, twerk, floorslap or kiss the coaches ass. His shot alone is OAD. That is all the NBA is now - chuck the damn ball up at the 3 point line.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:53 PM ^
Just have to disagree here, if you’re not an adequate defender on the wing, shooting just doesn’t do much independent of serviceable ball skills.
Different story at the college level, where teams simply don’t have the talent to exploit poor defenders. The NBA hunts challenged athletes/defenders relentlessly. Totally different game.
To give you an idea of the value of a limited athlete/defender with elite shooting.....Duncan Robinson was not drafted. Says a lot about how GMs think
January 18th, 2021 at 4:09 PM ^
I'm paraphrasing from what I've seen said elsewhere and I know this differs a bit from what Matt has said but here's how I would compare our two 5-stars:
- Houstan - He knows exactly what his role is and will be ready to plug and play immediately. He may not have the true ceiling of a conventional 5-star guy but he has an incredibly high floor and is a great replacement day-1 for Livers.
- Diabate - He has limitless talent and could be almost anything on a basketball court.....but doesn't really know what his role is right now. He is going to be harder to plug-and-play right away for that reason. He could be an NBA all-star....and he could also be a freshman who struggles next year at times. His shot is still a work in progress and while his athleticism is off-the-charts, his in-game skills will need some refinement. I'm not watching today, but I've seen some of his other games and highlights and watched last night. I'm really, really excited for him (especially on defense) but he will be a roller coaster.
Next year is going to be a wild ride overall with so much youth. I love our class and their potential, but there will be so little veteran experience that it is hard to even project a rotation.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:26 PM ^
I know where you extracted that from, and I wonder if that analysis changes after today’s performance. Lots of skill from Moussa on display today.
Moral of the story is you can’t really evaluate based on 1 game, particularly when Moussa was being defended by the best HS prospect in America regardless of class.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
Matt - how would you compare where Diabate is as a prospect right now to where Todd was at this point last year? Both have limitless potential and look like NBA players getting off the bus. Both are still figuring out how to best harness their potential and fine-tune their games.
My uneducated take is that Diabate gives maximum effort most of the time and is more willing to fit within his team's system where Todd was probably a little more developed in his skills but probably needed more coaching to fit them into what a team needed. But again....I don't know what I'm talking about
January 18th, 2021 at 5:03 PM ^
Different skillsets/positions so the criteria is a bit different. Both are NBA guys with great positional size + athleticism.
Todd - more of a 3/4 that can create his own shot off the bounce, hit pull-ups, face-up from the perimeter and bully smaller defenders on the block. Biggest negative is shot selection.....he settles for pull-ups far too much because no defender can prevent him from getting it off at the HS level (or college level to be honest). That is what makes him a "low floor" college player, but also the precise reason that he's an NBA type because the list of 6'10 kids that can isolate on the perimeter and create space off the bounce before raising up + knocking down a pull-up is extremely limited.
Diabate - a 4/5 all the way. Greatest asset is positional agility + overall athleticism. Elite lateral movement and can defend 1-5 and defend on the perimeter with ease. Offensively, excels as a face-up option that can handle the ball well for his size and can blow-by legit bigs off the bounce. Rapidly improving as a perimeter shooter and back-to-the-basket scorer, but not ready to be a heavy volume guy in either area just yet. Will be an elite roll-man/lob catcher from day 1 that will flash skill in the half court. Has the look of a no-brainer NBA player down the road.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:49 PM ^
Yes, his comparative analysis sounded very familiar. Should probably give credit where credit is due.
As for OAD, I take the position that every freshman that steps on the floor for Michigan is a potential One and Done. All it takes is for the kid to think he is ready. What we all think doesn’t really matter.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:36 PM ^
I completely agree with this assessment. I think Houstan ends up being a 2-3 player and leaves after he's more physically ready for the NBA. I think he's kinda in the mold of the typical Villanova 5 star who is there for a few years. High floor and good college contributor, but limited NBA ceiling. Diabate has a lot of upside, but I'm not sure we are going to see the best of him at Michigan. I think Camp Sanderson and Juwan's coaching will really help his development and that he has the potential to be a great NBA player, but his minutes in a Michigan uniform are definitely going to be a mixed bag as a freshman. Likely a really good versatile defender, but streaky on offense. I think he's a 1 or 2 year player depending on how his offense comes along during his freshman year
January 18th, 2021 at 4:46 PM ^
I agree based on the last couple games I have watched with their two teams. That said, I think Diabate could potentially fit in to the starting lineup as a wildcard power forward that focuses on defense and offensive rebounds over his first year of basketball. He would fit in well with Hunter or another steady center.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:13 PM ^
Btw, Jarace Walker is a nice player but he needs to be more decisive with the ball.
Man I loved Duren's game, he does remind me greatly of CWebb, runs and dunks similarly. Would love to see him go to Michigan after a couple of years of Hunter.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
Reminded me of CWebb as well.
January 18th, 2021 at 6:01 PM ^
NBA draft types seem to agree with my assessment in the Diabate/Houston dialogue after watching today’s game.
https://mobile.twitter.com/MaxFeldman6/status/1351295617184772099