Moussa Diabate invited to NBA Draft Combine
https://umhoops.com/2022/05/03/report-moussa-diabate-invited-to-nba-draft-combine/
I don't know that this means that he's gone, but you have to assume that he'll test well as far as vertical leap, etc. I haven't seen anything on Houstan.
Do they test "hands"? Because I swear it was like the second coming of Ricky Doyle some days with so many fumbled passes and misplays on the ball in the post,
Brandon Johns would like a word.
Thanks for the memory of Ricky Doyle. Yeesh.
We've come so far.. (and hopefully are not heading back).
Big Sweat! Best nickname in a long time.
I suppose it was from those concrete shoes he wore.
Big Country was another cool nick.
Catching the ball cleanly is one of the most underrated aspects of playing basketball. Any fumble, even for a brief moment, has the potential to disrupt offensive flow and timing. There's a reason John Beilein worked with his players on that fundamental, along with passes hitting their teammate is specific locations.
As far as teaching the skills of basketball, I’m not sure there have been many better in the history of college basketball coaching than John Beilein.
Meantime, Houstan would drive baseline and then throw a pass right into the defenders shins, aiming for his teammate's ankles once or twice every game. Drove me nuts.
speaking of hands ... he also knows how to dunk, but doesn't at times for unknown reasons. it cost Michigan much needed points at times and I can recall a few games where his own teammates were yelling at him to dunk it after missing a point blank layup
Doesn't exactly scream "ready for the NBA" does it?
There are arguments to be made both ways but a year more of competition and pro style ball at Michigan seems to be the smartest choice...
Thought I read somewhere on the blog about Moussa playing soccer growing up and had only a couple years of bball instruction. Could explain his fumblitis, not a lot of catching a ball playing soccer. Hope he makes the right decision for himself.
Yeah, he went through his childhood not using his hands, lol
As Americans, we sometimes don't realize how much experience we've had in catching things.
I think I'm pretty typical for my age group (I'm old). Started from a very early age with my Dad and continued to play catch with him until I was out of HS. Beyond that, as soon as I was old enough to have neighborhood friends we were always outside and spent a lot of time at the park playing pickup ball games and other ball games (like $5).
But more than that, we were always out goofing around - and that usually meant some sort of throwing things, including balls of all sorts (base, soft, foot, nurf, golf, croquet, beach, volley, mud, ...), sticks, rocks, Gordie's sister's doll, ... to and at each other. Sometimes with the goal of making people miss. I think that makes the average American far more capable of catching things than average people in most countries.
I noticed many years ago when I first traveled to Europe that I never saw kids out playing catch and I also noticed the guys had little feel for catching things. That's when I first started thinking about how much of my early years involved catching things. I'm sure the relatively recent increase in basketball interest is improving the general catching capability around the world.
Can't ever remember throwing a croquet ball. Sounds lethal.
That’s what made it exciting! Of course, we weren’t completely crazy! We moderated the speed if we used golf balls or croquet balls!
Soccer players still use their hands plenty for throw ins and to brace themselves when they flop on the ground.
i gotta say, that comment literally made me lol like a little school girl. I started reading it thinking it was going to be serious, about how he may have actually had an opportunity to develop hands by playing soccer, since the sport requires the use of hands in some meaningful way that I had not yet considered, and they i read the flopping part and just cracked up. Bravo, sir...bravo!
So I’m guessing he was not a goalie.
Doyle rules!
Assuming he’s gone do quite well at the combine, so he’s most likely gone. I haven’t followed the draft very closely this year compared to other years, but he probably can sneak into the back end of the 1st round if he scores well enough.
I'm going to assume he's good as gone. He's getting to the combine without having to go through the D League camp first which leads me to believe the NBA views him as atleast a top 50 prospect. Someone will take a shot on him even if he ends up playing on a 2 way contract next season. Considering he can't get anything in the form of NIL money not a lot of reasoning to suggest he returns to school.
This is what I'd go with if I had to bet. But I suppose he could do very poorly on the court.
I'd say developing an offensive game, learning to defend better, and improving draft stock in '23 (that's more $) is reasoning enough to come back.
Counterargument: He has more resources to develop his game instead of having to go to classes, studying for exams and doing homework in addition to weight training, film sessions, practice and games. Plus he can get to the 2nd contract sooner if he succeeds.
They scrimmage at the combine don't they? I would assume he would play very well as he is still more of a hustle player. Would outrun players for easy buckets and he hits the glass so he will look good out there unfortunately.
Moe Wagner returned after he went to the NBA draft combine so it’s possible he could return but looking more likely than not he’s gone
I think im correct when I say that Hunter wasn’t invited to the NBA draft camp last year, it was the D league camp he played in. If Moussa is going, and he has all upside and potential, he’s as good as gone. This is the camp for the ones they are serious about for sure. I think Caleb will see what he needs to work on and then come back for one more year.
You're right that Hunter was at the G League camp.
D League, G League, lol…I can’t keep it straight anymore.
It's definitely a camp named after a letter. I'm sure of that.
Yep correct.
At least there are still plenty of highly regarded portal guys still left biding their time til the June 1st deadline. If Moussa goes I'd guess we sign one of those.
Maybe this is a shitty thing to say but….. if he’s a one and done, UM did not get one and done production out of him.
He looked very raw to me. If he gets drafted, he’s a “project”. So by the time he’s ready to really produce he’ll be on his second contract and probably with a different team. For this reason I’m not sure why NBA teams take a chance on projects.
The kid is super athletic and I hope he’s successful whenever he decides to make the jump.
Happens to the hockey team a lot too. High draftability doesn't always equate to being an all-star in college because a lot of times these kids are still developing and they're out the door already by the time they're 20
I'm not so sure Moussa is going to be that level of a project. Teams aren't dumb and if Moussa's getting this much interest, he's probably a good bet to improve rapidly YOY
"Teams aren't dumb"
LOL
The old "Human Victory Cigar" What a loaded class and the Pistons tottally wiffed.
They got standard one and done production out of him. People vastly overrate the expectations of high ranking freshman. He had a better year than say, josh Christopher last year
we see duke. we want duke.
No, he didn't.
What's are NBA executives seeing in Moussa? Are they hoping for a Rodman type? Can someone point to a NBA player who he resembles? I just see a skinny big, with zero offensive skills and a great motor. Is that enough?
I obviously can’t say what NBA execs are seeing, specifically, but what they see overall is a boatload of potential. I can see where he should come back to school, but I can also see where he can develop in the lower league potentially for a year while he hones in on his skills. Isaiah Todd had to do the same this past year, for example. Without any NIL opportunities he can at least make some cash in the G League while working on his skills. It’s really all about what Moussa wants as opposed to what others see or want.
Rodman was exceptionally skilled at rebounding (especially offensively) and an excellent positional defender (also very physical in a good way). Moussa is much more of a shot blocker with some offensive skill and a much worse rebounder. I don’t see him and Rodman as very similar players.
This is no surprise.
I think his vertical leap will be one of the more unimpressive test results.
Assuming he's gone, this will help open up the offense for Juwan. Caleb at the 4 means you get another shooter on the floor with TWill at the 3, Kobe at the 2 and Llewellyn at the 1. That's actually a pretty intriguing lineup assuming Kobe and Caleb can take another step in production. TWill seemed like he should have played a lot more last year. This could be quite the turnaround from a shooting standpoint.
He gone
It Mouusa been love
but it's all over now.
He played prety good.
He'll get drafted somehow.
Did we watch the the same guy this year? He's an average athlete by NBA PF standards and below average height and wingspan for an NBA center. So where is all this potential coming from?
I wouldn't assume he's gone. He was fairly wobbly this year and also seemed to need a lot more strength-building. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a round-2 grade with a suggestion that improvements could make him a first-rounder next year. That's a big difference in terms of money.
Although consistent production wasn’t there for Moussa (He had some great games), his body type and athleticism is just what the NBA craves. If he develops offensively he could be really good.
If Diabate stays in draft, Houstan returns, that frees up 1 spot. Bates out. Anyone know of a possible portal player we will go after? Would love to see another guard added to the roster.
I’d like to see us go after Tyrese Hunter, the pg from Iowa St. He only played this year so the credits thing wouldn’t be as big of an issue for him.